'Rat tax' suspension amid bin strike welcomed

A Labour councillor who quit the party over a so-called "rat tax" in Birmingham has welcomed a decision to temporarily drop the charge for residents.

Councillor Sam Forsyth, who represents Quinton, left the party last week over the £24.60 charge to deal with the vermin, saying the rats were a public health issue during the city's strike by bin workers.

Posting on Facebook, she highlighted a change to the council's website stating the calls to deal with rats in the garden or house were now "temporarily free".

The city council has been contacted for a response.

Waste continues to go uncollected in parts of the city as the all-out strike continues into its sixth week.

"I have said for months that charging people to get rid of rats from their homes during a bin strike was just wrong," Forster, an independent councillor, posted.

"Good to see these charges removed."

As the strike has rumbled on, the clear up of mountains of bin bags has highlighted how the problem is most stark in densely populated inner-city areas.

Wealthier, more sparsely populated parts have been far less affected by waste building up.

All-out strike action led to a major incident being declared in the city in March but talks remain at a stalemate between the city council and the Unite union.

On-and-off strike action began on 6 January with 12 walkouts planned across four months.

But the situation escalated amid union anger over an alleged move by the council to hire temporary labour to, they claimed, "undermine" the industrial action.

Litter picking and resident groups continue to work to clear mountains of black bags from the city's streets.

One group in Aston has been clearing land around Villa Park ahead of key matches against PSG and Newcastle in the past week.

Independent MP for Birmingham Perry Barr Ayoub Khan joined the volunteers from Dawat-E-Islami, saying he appreciated the "great efforts" of the community.

"It just shows you this is all about community pride and local organisations which are putting up their volunteers," he added.

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