Birmingham City Council and Unite: Refuse Workers’ Pay

Baroness Thornhill Excerpts

Tuesday 17th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

The commissioners are reporting regularly to the Secretary of State. They are independent of government, but they are carrying out valuable work in Birmingham. In their most recent report, they highlighted that the council has made very positive progress in key areas, including in service delivery. They also noted that the waste dispute has diverted attention and that the council has significant work to do to meet the best value duty. The commissioners are providing good support to Birmingham City Council, and I am sure they will continue to do so.

[Baroness Thornhill (LD)]

My Lords, my concern is that for a whole year, the residents of Birmingham have had to endure worsening public health conditions. What additional public health powers are Ministers prepared to use if the situation deteriorates? How bad do things have to be before the Government intervene? A year is far too long.

[Baroness Taylor of Stevenage (Lab)]

Throughout the dispute, the Government’s priority has been the residents of Birmingham. During the worst disruption, in spring 2025, the Government provided intensive support to local partners to respond to the public health crisis that was arising then because of the all-out strike action. The result was to establish a regular contingency waste collection service, despite the industrial action. While the contingency service delivers basic services, there have been periods of missed collections. We continue to monitor the situation and the associated impact on local communities, but for the moment the contingency service is delivering a service to the people of Birmingham.