Birmingham City Council and Public Service Cutbacks: The Role of Community in Shaping Birmingham’s Future 

By Professor John Bryson Professor of Enterprise and Economic Geography, The Department of Strategy and International Business, Birmingham Business School Birmingham City Council (BCC) has found itself in a financial mess. Partly this comes from operational decisions that were made in the past and often by officers rather than elected councillors. One outcome of these … Continue reading “Birmingham City Council and Public Service Cutbacks: The Role of Community in Shaping Birmingham’s Future “

HMP Birmingham – the challenge of privatisation within a struggling prison system

By Dr Anna Kotova, Lecturer in Criminology Department of Social Policy, Sociology and Criminology The recent revelation of the issues in HMP Birmingham, which was run by G4S, and the consequent takeover of the prison by the government raise a range of questions about both privatisation of prisons, and deeper endemic problems faced by our … Continue reading “HMP Birmingham – the challenge of privatisation within a struggling prison system”

Citizens UK pledge, a catalyst for social change and community benefit

By  Dr Catherine Durose, Institute of Local Government Studies Reader in Policy Sciences at the University of Birmingham “The use of pledges in community organising provide a different way of doing politics, a set of political tactics to build community power…” Citizens UK bring together locally-rooted member institutions, in the fields of education, community, trade union … Continue reading “Citizens UK pledge, a catalyst for social change and community benefit”