Title

HUMAN RESOURCES

Birmingham director steps down over IT debacle

Birmingham City Council’s strategic director of council management, Becky Hellard, has resigned, The MJ understands.

Birmingham City Council's strategic director of council management, Becky Hellard, has resigned, The MJ understands.

Ms Hellard had been absent from the council after it was revealed that the cost of an IT and HR contract have ballooned from £19m to nearly £40m.

The system, which was due to be delivered by December 2020, is unlikely to materialise until next year. In the meantime, the council's finance system has been left in chaos.

Birmingham has appointed Fiona Greenway as the council's interim director of finance and s151 officer.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Pressure grows on ministers to publish reorganisation legal advice

By Dan Peters | 15 September 2026

Pressure was this week growing on ministers to publish the legal advice behind their decision to ‘pause’ local government reorganisation and announce a review.

HUMAN RESOURCES

The severed links in health and care integration

By Martin Ford | 06 August 2026

Despite recognition of the benefits of closer integration between health and social care, recent months have seen a flurry of breakups in partnerships betwee...

HUMAN RESOURCES

Exclusive: Review on building capacity for 'full fat' devo is launched

By Ann McGauran | 08 July 2026

A review by one of Prime Minister in-waiting Andy Burnham's closest advisers on how to build the institutional capacity for ‘full fat' devolution has launched.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Reform's good local government problems

By Ann McGauran | 20 May 2026

Ben Bradley talks to Ann McGauran about the implications of Reform UK’s huge election gains for reorganisation and delivering efficiencies – and he shares th...

Heather Jameson

Popular articles by Heather Jameson

-->