It is one of the four wards forming the Hall Green formal district within Birmingham City Council.

The area receives its name from Spark Brook, a small stream that flowed south of the city centre.

Sparkbrook ward is represented by two Labour councillors on Birmingham City Council, Mohammed Azim and Shabrana Hussain.

[2] Its former independent councillor, Talib Hussain, was elected as a Liberal Democrat but resigned from the party after being sacked from the council's cabinet.

Its implementation was frozen in June 2010 amid allegations that the police deliberately misled councillors about its purpose, after it was revealed that it was being funded as an anti-terrorism initiative, rather than for 'reassurance and crime prevention'.

[4][5] The campaign was spearheaded by a local activist called Steve Jolly,[6] who 'wrote an article for a local magazine, started a petition and lobbied MPs and councillors to denounce the spy-cam scheme',[7] he was proactive in contacting the media, it was Steve Jolly who made Paul Lewis of The Guardian aware of this issue.

[9] Chief Constable Simms said: "I am sorry that we got such an important issue so wrong and deeply sorry that it has had such a negative impact on our communities.