Within weeks a judicial review hearing will determine Birmingham City Council’s £2.7bn highways provision.
Commissioners who were appointed to oversee the council after it declared itself unable to balance its books by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, have criticised the government’s handling of the contract.
The contract combines approximately £50m PFI funding from central government in the form of PFI credits with the council’s £56m per year budget for providing routine and reactive maintenance, and major planned maintenance and investment works on the city’s highway network and assets.
Kier's appointment to the contract, awarded last year, was dependent on government approval, which was denied by the Department for Transport (DfT) at the end of November 2023 when it rejected the council’s outline business case for the measure.
Commissioners who were appointed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to oversee the running of the authority follouwing the filing of a Section 114, after the council declared itself unable to balance its books.
The council said in a statement last month that it had started judicial review proceedings and that they would take place before the end of March.
It added: “The council’s foremost priority remains the continued delivery of statutory highway functions and services across the city, ensuring the safety of citizens and visitors across the network.
“For the meantime, the council will continue to ensure the delivery of services via the current interim services contract that is delivered by Kier.
“This matter is now subject to ongoing legal proceedings and therefore, it would be inappropriate for the council, its staff and/or elected members to provide any further comments in respect of this matter at this stage and pending the outcome of such proceedings.”
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