Birmingham City Council IT system bill could be five times higher

New leader John Cotton said he wanted to be transparent over costs

A flagship IT system at Birmingham City Council that has been plagued by delays could now cost up to £100m - five times its original budget.

Oracle was supposed to streamline the council's payments and HR systems and was set to cost £19m, but is already three years overdue.

New council leader John Cotton told BBC News no money would be cut from other services to pay for it.

He said council officers must be held accountable for the cost.

The council has been trying to roll out the system, but it was revealed last month costs had risen from £19m up to £40m, and could now reach a total of £100m.

Confirming the potential £100m cost, Mr Cotton said he wanted to be transparent.

"I've been really clear with the officers of this council, coming in as the new leader, that I expect them to take responsibility and I expect them to be accountable to the political leadership," he said.

Mr Cotton has been facing the media as he takes up his new role

"We know there will be a bill to make this system work effectively. We've sought advice on that and estimate the total cost may run to £100m in total.

"But what I am saying to the people of this city is I want to be open and transparent about what the challenges are and I am holding officers to account to put that right."

Mr Cotton said the problems were not affecting frontline services or for the council "to pay its bills", but some "fundamental issues with the system needed to be fixed".

"We will not be taking money out of frontline services to meet any of the costs related to Oracle," he added.

"We are working on a plan to meet whatever costs we need to meet to make sure the system works"

Analysis: Rob Mayor, Birmingham political reporter

As I sat down to interview the new leader on his first day in the job, I was ready to ask questions about two reports which were scathing of the political culture at the council, as well as a third, highly critical of the council's social housing provision, all published in the last 10 days.

Then a media advisor told me they could also offer an update on the beleaguered Oracle IT system, already beset by spiralling costs and delays.

It's a clear strategy to be open about a huge failure and present the catastrophic project as an inherited issue, but there will also be pressure for the new leader to quickly show he has a grasp of the problem as well as the other issues the authority is grappling with.

But Conservative councillor Robert Alden said: "We are only just starting to see the true cost of Birmingham Labour's decade of failure."

He said the "disastrous" new system had meant the authority was still unable to produce full accounts and it had all happened "under the watch" of Mr Cotton who was part of former leader Ian Ward's cabinet.

He said they ignored warnings from the Conservatives and voted for the changes without raising concerns and "now they need to answer why they let this disaster happen".