Top team in place for council's crucial year

LABOUR LEADERSHIP GIVEN A NEW LOOK AHEAD OF LOCAL ELECTIONS

- JANE HAYNES

BIRMINGHAM City Council's cabinet has undergone a mini reshuffle after a veteran councillor quit, with its top team now in place for a year ahead that will end in an all-out election.

Cllr Jayne Francis has relinquished her role as cabinet member for housing and homelessness. She had been been in the cabinet for seven years and previously held the culture portfolio. She will continue as a councillor representing Harborne.

Cllr Nicky Brennan, former victims' commissioner overseeing West Midlands Police, is taking over her brief, while in comes Cllr Jamie Tennant, who represents Weoley and Selly Oak. to take on Cllr Brennan's current social justice, community safety and equalities portfolio.

Cllr Tennant, who is also head of office for Tamworth MP Sarah Edwards, was among the new intake of Labour councillors in 2022, and is currently chair of the Homes Overview and Scrutiny Committee.