Commissioner Max Caller brought in to oversee £300m in cuts to Birmingham's services to step down
Max Caller, who has been referred to by campaigners across the city as 'Max the Axe', has announced plans to retire.
He was sent in by the Government in 2023 to make hundreds of millions of pounds worth of cuts to services after the authority effectively declared bankruptcy.
He will be replaced by Tony McArdle OBE, who is the former chief executive of Lincolnshire County Council, and Wellingborough Council. He also led the recent intervention at Nottingham City Council to help solve their financial problems two years ago.
It's understood Mr Caller has written to deputy prime minister Angela Rayner confirming his retirement plan.It comes in the midst of a hugely damaging bin strike in the city, which is understood to have cost the council and taxpayers £4 million. Mr Caller had said last year that he intended to step down as soon as he felt the council's recovery and improvement was secure.
He had said it would be a "disaster" if he stayed on for longer as it would show the council was not getting better.In a statement Jim McMahon, minister for local government and regional devolution at the Ministry of Housing, Local Government and Communities has said: 'Max Caller has made a significant contribution to local government throughout his career including leading efforts to put Birmingham City Council on a sustainable footing.
"We thank him for his work and wish him well in his retirement."While the city's recovery remains fragile, marked progress was made under his leadership including developing a stable medium-term financial plan, making progress towards resolving the outstanding equal pay situation, and re-implementing the Oracle IT programme."The government's priority is to ensure this work continues."I am confident that will be the case under the new lead commissioner Tony McArdle OBE who brings a huge range of experience to the role having been a well-respected council chief executive and leading interventions at other local authorities."
His departure comes just one day after campaigners lost their legal battle over his decision to shut four day centres in the city for people with disabilities: Beeches GOLDD, Fairway, Harborne, and Heartlands.
Mr Caller had blocked an attempt by councillors to scrutinise the controversial decision.
The closures were part of a wider effort to address a £1.95 million budget gap for 2024–25 and £3.35 million in 2025–26.
Following the cabinet's decision to close the centres, six councillors sought to have it reviewed by a scrutiny committee through the formal 'call-in' process. But Max Caller overruled them, blocking further examination by the scrutiny committee.Wishing Mr Caller well, the council leader, Councillor John Cotton, said: "I want to place on record our best wishes to Max for his retirement and I have thanked him for his valuable contribution in helping Birmingham's improvement over the past two years."I have this morning also received a letter from the Minister of State for Local Government and English Devolution, Jim McMahon MP. The Minister has informed us that he has appointed Tony McArdle OBE as the new Lead Commissioner at Birmingham City Council."I am clear that the council still needs external support and the challenge of critical friends, but we need to ensure that they are aligned to our shared priorities as we move to the next stage of the council's improvement journey."We are very keen to continue the pace of progress and ensure it does not slow down during these changes. That is why work on producing next year's budget continues at pace."
Since being appointed by the then Secretary of State Michael Gove in October 2023, Mr Caller has overseen a string of major cuts to the council's services.
As commissioner, his role included ensuring financial sustainability was delivered, closing budget gaps, agreeing changes to the authority's operating model to ensure financial sustainability.
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