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Birmingham City Council in financial distress over equal pay claims.

..Birmingham City Council has declared itself in financial distress over multimillion-pound liabilities to settle equal pay claims.In a statement on Tuesday, Europe’s largest local authority confirmed that it had issued the declaration that it cannot balance its books.

It said all new council spending in the city, with the exception of protecting vulnerable people and statutory services, must stop immediately.

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: “Birmingham City Council has issued a s.114 notice as part of the plans to meet the council’s financial liabilities relating to equal pay claims and an in-year financial gap within its budget which currently stands in the region of £87 million.“In June, the council announced it had a potential liability relating to equal pay claims in the region of £650 million to £760 million, with an ongoing liability accruing at a rate of £5 million to £14 million per month.

“The council is still in a position where it must fund the equal pay liability that has accrued to date (in the region of £650 million to £760 million), but it does not have the resources to do so.”

The spokesperson said: “The council will tighten the spend controls already in place and put them in the hands of the section 151 officer to ensure there is complete grip.

“The notice means all new spending, with the exception of protecting vulnerable people and statutory services, must stop immediately.

“The council’s senior officers and members are committed to dealing with the financial situation and when more information is available it will be shared.”

Sharon Thompson, deputy leader of Birmingham City Council, told councillors at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning that the notice was a “necessary step as we seek to get our city back on sound financial footing”.

She said: “I want to stress that despite the significant challenges that we face, we will prioritise core services that our residents rely on in line with our values of supporting the most vulnerable in this city.

Labour-run Birmingham City Council declares itself effectively BANKRUPT after being hit with £760m bill to settle equal pay claims - as officials blame rampant inflation for going bust.

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.英國第二大城伯明翰為什麼破產?.伯明罕宣布「實質破產」

市議會領袖John Cotton 指出：這次破產是因為女性員工的同工同酬索償,資訊系統更新等8.6 億英鎊的應付款項,以及中央政府削減了10 億英鎊資金等問題。目前預算中尚有8,700 萬英鎊的缺口。.

.On September 5, 2023, Birmingham, the second largest city in the UK, issued a "Section 114 Notice", which means that the city government is no longer able to balance its revenue and expenditure and has entered an emergency financial crisis. There are currently no provisions related to local government bankruptcy in the UK, and the Article 114 announcement is tantamount to declaring de facto bankruptcy.

The Government for its part has stepped in to provide support, an additional £5.1 billion to councils in 23/24, which is more than a 9% increase for Birmingham City Council.

“Clearly it’s for locally elected councils to manage their own budgets, I know the department has been engaging regularly with them to that end and has expressed concern about their governance arrangements and has requested assurances from the leader of the council about the best use of taxpayers’ money.”

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「才剛喊完『黃金十年』就實質破產的伯明罕...。」英國第二大城伯明罕20230905日實質破產,市議會表示目前預算缺口達8,740萬英鎊,此後將停止除了法定基本服務（如公路維護,垃圾回收和保障弱勢族群等）之外的所有公部門支出。議會領袖科頓（John Cotton）將實質破產原因歸咎於市府安裝的新IT系統,高達7.6億英鎊的性別同工不同酬索賠金,以及歷年來保守黨中央政府削減了伯明罕約10億英鎊的資金。

英國各地城市近年已面臨公共醫療支出不斷上漲,商業稅收卻減低的困境,加上2023年以來的嚴重通膨,伯明罕雖然已不是近年首個宣布財政困境的英國城市,但其在2022年才宣布進入「黃金十年」,如今處境可說是最響亮的警鐘。

伯明罕市議會20230905日發布「第114條通知」（Section 114 notice）,該通知代表地方當局判斷自身陷入財務困境,無法再平衡預算,無法進行公共支出。

第114條通知的法源來自1988年的《地方政府財政法》,由地方議會的首席財務官決定發出,發出不需得到議員同意,而英國地方政府其實不能直接宣布「破產」,發布第114條通知就表示該地政府已經「實質破產」,其後必須在21天內召開會議討論後續處置。.

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英國一向有「鳥地方」（Crap Towns）一說，雖然沒有明確的定義,但大致上是指犯罪叢生,人口外移,失去活力,缺乏工作機會,無法凝聚當地認同等現象。有許多網站,雜誌還會自嘲式地票選全英國「最爛最鳥,最不宜居」的市鎮。.第二大城伯明罕則只有 115 萬,英國早已去工業化,這些產業要不隨著時代消失,要不移出原本所在地,基本上是沒有發展的僅有吃老本等待宣告破產關門大吉,換句話說傳統性質的與民生物質相關的產業早已勢違被時代所淘汰年輕一輩的英國人大多數不願意從事傳統型的勞動產業,他們嚮往歐洲及美國的社會工作及消費模式,伯明罕有將近10餘萬年輕人口外移,到倫敦,利物浦甚至於歐洲及美國以及海外地區找尋工作及居住,導致於伯明罕的經濟逐漸衰退,淪為惡性循環,也就是說劣幣逐良幣,最後自食惡果,宣告破產倒閉,老百姓自力更生,形成另類的叢林法則,肉弱強食的生態社會型態,如今的伯明翰市區靜悄悄,有些街頭巷尾的路燈早已關閉或是被破壞無法使用,市議會沒有預算給予市政府修復,那些公務員傳聞被減薪,有些臨時僱員就是被辭退,淪為失業族,只有走上街頭巷尾示威抗議.社會治安敗壞,大批婦女淪為租街女郎賣淫渡日子,還債或是扶養親屬及年幼的兒童即使警察取締也不在乎,至於搶劫騙案己乎天天發生於伯明翰的街頭巷尾..

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