Questions are starting to emerge about how exactly Birmingham city council ended up in a financial crisis, and whether the figures behind its problems actually stack up.
Here is a rundown of how events unfolded.
April 2022 – The council’s new IT system, its first major upgrade since 1999, goes live. Councillors say IT staff warned that the system had not been fully tested and there were faults. Issues quickly materialise, but council officers say they are being dealt with.
April 2023 – The council’s then chief executive, Deborah Cadman, emails all councillors to say the IT transition is not running as smoothly as expected and has affected operations in finance and HR. A taskforce is established to deal with the issue.
June 2023 –…
