Industrial action continues to affect waste-disposal services at Birmingham City Council. The government has repeatedly called for Unite to call off these strikes, and accept the fair deal on the table.

The major incident that the Council declared because of the risks to public health, caused by interruptions to this vital statutory service, remains in force. The government has taken decisive action to support the Council in using the tools that it needs to ensure waste in the city can be safely and sustainably managed.

The statutory intervention in Birmingham City Council is led by commissioners, who are supporting the Council to undertake functions of local government in the city, including waste disposal services.

The government has provided extensive and ongoing support to the City Council to ensure the welfare of the citizens of the city. At the Council’s request, the government has deployed operational and logistical expertise to assist the Council in addressing the accumulated backlog of waste on the city’s streets. That backlog presented real risks to public health, and especially that of the city’s most vulnerable and deprived residents, who should not have to endure the presence of piles of waste on streets, parks and in other public spaces.

As a result of this concerted and ongoing effort, and with the assistance of other councils, private operators, and the endeavours of many determined workers who have put in long hours, over 26,000 tonnes of waste have been removed, and rubbish levels are approaching normal. More than 100 bin lorries are out every day: regular bin collections have resumed, and the Council continues to monitor the situation closely to ensure waste does not build-up and to fight opportunistic fly-tipping.

I want to thank Birmingham City Council for its continuing work to get the streets clean and to bring the dispute to an end. It must confront the challenge of modernising its waste-disposal service so that it works for the people of the city and does not store up irresponsible liabilities for the future. While it is for the Council to work through this with Unite, the government supports the Council in their efforts to maintain the progress on resolving the equal pay injustice which saw thousands of women workers paid less than their male counterparts over many decades.

The Council has put a constructive and reasonable offer on the table that protects the interests of the citizens of Birmingham, and of the council’s own employees in the waste-disposal services.

The deal on the table is a good deal. The Council has worked hard to offer routes to maintain pay through transferring to comparable roles, and in some cases to upskill and increase pay of those workers in scope. The ongoing and extensive clean-up and maintenance operation will continue until the industrial action is suspended.

The government will continue to be on the side of those people, and to support the Council in its journey to create the sustainable, fair and reliable waste service that residents in Birmingham deserve.