The team brought in to help Birmingham turn itself around has called on the secretary of state to let it step back in light of improvements and the new management team in place. 

In the latest of its progress reports to Sajid Javid, the Birmingham Independent Improvement Panel (BIIP) praised the interim chief executive of Birmingham City Council, Stella Manzie, and interim finance officer, Mike O'Donnell, who both have ‘considerable experience of achieving improvement and turnaround'.