Birmingham City Council face £650 million black hole as new equal pay claims surface

Birmingham City Council faces a black hole in its budget worth at least £650 million after fresh equal pay claims emerged.

The council has already paid out a billion pounds to settle equal pay claims, but says Oracle, a new computer system its using to handle its finances, has revealed that significant additional Equal Pay costs will need to be provided.

The council could face costs as high as £750 million pounds - and in a statement, officials suggested it was continuing to accrue liability at a rate of between £5 million and £14 million a month.

Faced with such huge costs, the Council has said it won't be able to pay out of its reserves - meaning that it will have to change its spending commitments, and funding could well be reduced for projects and services across the city.

In a statement the Council apologised for the situation and their failure to take control of their financial issues.

They added that steps were already being taken to address the problem, including discussions with the Department of Levelling-Up, Housing and Communities.