A radical new plan to end decades of failure at by breaking it up and creating ten district councils has been unveiled.
Areas such as Edgbaston, Hall Green or Erdington would have their own local authorities collecting council tax and providing key services, under plans set out by Sutton Coldfield MP Andrew Mitchell.
And the Conservative MP, who is close to Local Government Secretary Greg Clark, said there was "considerable support" for his plan both within the city and in the Government.
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He said: "In my view something like this is going to happen."
In an interview with the Birmingham Post, Mr Mitchell said there was widespread agreement that Birmingham City Council simply couldn’t improve as it currently exists.
And he warned that Birmingham’s failure was holding back the entire West Midlands, with both government and the private sector preferring to invest in the "Northern Powerhouse" in the north of England instead.
Mr Mitchell said: "We’ve done our best. Under Conservative leadership, Labour leadership and Coalition leadership, it’s now clear that it just doesn’t work.
"It’s not fair to the people of Birmingham, because there’s real concern about whether Birmingham can fully discharge its statutory duties to vulnerable people, be they the elderly or children.
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"And it’s also costing us dear now in competition with other parts of the country, like the Northern Powerhouse."
"The dysfunction of governance in Birmingham is something for which the whole region is paying a high price."
Under Mr Mitchell’s proposals, ten borough or district councils would each have 12 councillors. They would take responsibility for planning, environmental services, setting council tax and more.
A stripped down city council would still exist, but it would have no more than 40 councillors – compared to 120 today – and its role would be strictly limited to a few services such as waste collection.
Birmingham is nearing the end of a lengthy attempt to force through improvements which began when the Government commissioned
Ministers were concerned about the city’s failing children’s services, Birmingham’s massive financial liabilities and that religious hardliners had attempted to take over some city schools.
How would it work?
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- Birmingham would have ten district councils with the same boundaries as Parliamentary constituencies
- Their names can be seen in the map above along with their estimated populations based on 2012 data from the Office for National Statistics
- Each council would have 12 councillors, making 120 across the city - the same number that currently exists
- There would still be a city-wide council but it would have only 30 or 40 councillors and a much smaller role
- Responsibility for setting council tax levels and planning would be devolved to the new district councils
Lord Kerslake published a damning review in December 2014 which gave the authority a year to improve or risk being broken up.
The council's fate now lies in the hands of a panel chaired by business figure John Crabtree, a former senior partner of Birmingham law firm Wragge & Co, which is monitoring progress on behalf of ministers.
And Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, has asked the panel to tell him in January whether the council is capable of improving on its own, or whether the Government needs to take action.
In a letter to Mr Crabtree on November 5, Mr Clark said: "I welcome your promise of a further update in early January... at that point I will be particularly interested in your views on how effectively the leadership is working with the panel, and your judgment on whether the council has made adequate progress, or whether further measures will need to be taken."
Mr Micthell said: "We need a wholly different approach to the governance of Birmingham and it needs to devolve far more power locally, and accountability too.
"And although there are a number of possible models, the model I would submit is a new model based on the individual constituencies in Birmingham, who would be responsible for as much local government as possible."
London has a number of "borough councils" which each raise their own council tax, and the new Birmingham councils would operate in a similar way, he said.
"Just as happens in London at the moment, you would disaggregate the powers and then they would be responsible for raising their funds. You’d give as much financial autonomy to the ten district councils as you possibly could."
He added: "This gives back to Erdington a local status, to Ladywood, to different parts of Birmingham.
"We’ve tested to destruction whether Birmingham in its present condition can deliver, and the answer is it can’t.
Mr Mitchell insisted that his proposal would have support across the political spectrum and in central government.
"We have had enough. We have absolutely had enough now," he said.
"There will be Tories and Labour and Lib Dems who strongly agree with this and there will be some who don't. There is a groundswell of support for these sorts of ideas, and that is being echoed in government."
Mr Mitchell also claimed Birmingham and the West Midlands were playing "catch up" as investors shun the region in favour of the north of England.
Devolution deals have been agreed with Greater Manchester, the North East of England and the Sheffield City Region.
Some critics suggested Chancellor George Osborne’s interest in the north is because he represents a North West seat himself.
But there is also concern authorities in the West Midlands are failing to convince ministers they can be trusted with new powers.
Birmingham, Dudley, Walsall, Sandwell, Solihull, Coventry and Wolverhampton are forming a new body called the West Midlands Combined Authority, which is bidding for its own devolution deal. Other neighbouring councils may join as associate members.