Shard End-raised Joanne Roney to lead the council

Joanne Roney, the chief executive of Manchester City Council, has been appointed as the permanent managing director of Birmingham City Council, returning to the city where she grew up and started her career.

She will join the council in the autumn, after seven years leading Manchester.

From apprentice to managing director

Ms Roney grew up on a council estate in Shard End and joined Birmingham City Council as an apprentice at the age of 16. She went on to hold executive director posts at two other councils, then became chief executive of Wakefield Council, before joining Manchester City Council as chief executive in 2017.

She was made an OBE in 2009 and a CBE earlier this year, both for services to local government.

"The standout candidate"

Council leader John Cotton said: "Joanne was the standout candidate to steer the council through its current challenges and transform it into an organisation that delivers consistently good services for the people and communities of Birmingham."

"She's from Birmingham, knows and loves this city and is a committed public servant with a proven track record and a wealth of experience. I look forward to working with her as we strive to give the people of Birmingham the council and the future they deserve."

"A native Brummie"

Ms Roney said: "I might be an adopted Mancunian, and proud of it, but I'm a native Brummie and this was the only role which could have tempted me away."

"I began my career as an apprentice at Birmingham City Council at the age of 16 so the prospect of concluding it there as managing director, and helping the place where I grew up and my family still live rise to its current challenges, was a compelling one."

Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig said she understood "the emotional pull the Birmingham job has for Joanne" and wished her every success.

The challenge ahead

Ms Roney is taking on one of the most difficult jobs in local government. Last September, the council issued a section 114 notice, effectively declaring itself unable to balance its budget, largely because of the cost of equal pay claims and problems with its Oracle IT system.

Government-appointed commissioners have been overseeing the council since October. In March, the council set a budget that included a council tax rise of almost 10 per cent and deep cuts to services, and it is selling assets to help balance its books.

The council has also been without a permanent chief executive for some time. The new title of managing director reflects the scale of the job of turning the organisation around.

A track record

In Manchester, Ms Roney led the council through a period of major regeneration in the city and through the pandemic, experience that will be tested in Birmingham.

Her appointment has been welcomed by many in Birmingham as a sign that the council is serious about recovery. The size of the task, however, means that it is likely to be several years before residents see a council that consistently delivers the services they expect.