The Birmingham City Council (BCC) decision to modify the Oracle system rather than change its own business processes has come under scrutiny, resulting in a £100 million cost to taxpayers. However, documents obtained by Computer Weekly show that project management failures over several years played a significant role in the IT failure.
These documents highlight a lack of leadership and a reluctance to address concerns raised by the council’s audit committee, internal experts, and project stakeholders. The situation escalated in September 2023 when BCC declared bankruptcy with a Section 114 notice.
The audit report from April 2024 revealed that the Oracle system was at the core of BCC’s ongoing challenges. Councillor Fred Grindrod, former chair of the audit committee, stated that the committee had been misled by senior officers. The report also exposed discrepancies in the implementation of the Oracle software, which were known before the system went live in April 2022.
Despite warnings that the Oracle system would not work properly, it was still launched, leading to severe financial implications for the council. The system failed to provide accurate financial data, affecting the council’s ability to manage its finances effectively. The lack of a functioning bank reconciliation system further exacerbated the situation, causing issues with council tax collection and business rates.
In response to the criticism, Birmingham City Council acknowledged the challenges and apologized for the impact on staff and residents. Efforts have been made to improve governance and address the issues that arose from the Oracle system implementation. However, as of April 2024, the council is still facing significant costs for manual intervention in the bank reconciliation process. Additional investment and work are required to fully resolve the issues and ensure the effective functioning of the council’s financial and HR systems.