The leader of Nottingham City Council says he is not "cracking open the champagne" after the authority recently avoided Government commissioners being sent in to run it. The Improvement and Assurance Board (IAB) that has been monitoring the council since 2021 recently delivered its seventh quarterly report to the Government on progress.
The IAB was appointed as an oversight body at the council following issues including the collapse of Robin Hood Energy and the misspend of £40 million. It has also had the power to issue direct instructions to the council since September, with a further step available being the appointment of taxpayer-funded commissioners to run the council if the Government felt it was not making enough progress.
The Government recently confirmed that despite there being "still much to do" in terms of improvements at the council, it would not be sending commissioners in at this stage. But the latest report from Sir Tony Redmond, the IAB's chairman, does note problems including the amount of "competent" finance staff at the council.
