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.
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Opposition members also said that despite avoiding commissioners again, Sir Tony's latest report should act as a "very clear warning" that this option could still be used in the future. This point has now been acknowledged by Councillor David Mellen, the Labour leader of Nottingham City Council, at a meeting of its overview and scrutiny committee on February 8.
Councillor Mellen said: "I think we have to say that we have escaped [commissioners] twice now. It was threatened in July last year and it was certainly an expectation as a result of Sir Tony's report in December.
"I take heart from the fact that twice, the Government that hasn't been shy with commissioners in Liverpool or Slough have said about Nottingham, 'you are making progress, you've still got further to go, but we don't feel it's necessary to put commissioners in'. I'm not cracking open the champagne, but I am at least relieved that the threat is not one that's being realised at this moment.
"Could it be in the future, that's always a possibility. But I am determined to do what we can so that we can return to normal business without oversight of the council."
Councillor Andrew Rule, the leader of the Conservative Group at Nottingham City Council, asked about one of the elements of the report which said that "pressure is sometimes brought to bear, directly or indirectly, so that decisions are delayed, deferred or resisted, meaning that the business of the council can be frustrated or compromised." Councillor Rule asked David Mellen what Sir Tony Redmond was referring to in particular.
But David Mellen replied: "Sir Tony doesn't outline what he is referring to and maybe that's a question you can ask him. I have some suspicions about what he is referring to but I don't actually know."
Councillor Mellen also acknowledged the work the council was doing on finance staff, including interviews taking place this week to recruit a deputy Section 151 officer. David Mellen added: "There is no substitute for having permanent staff, people who have committed themselves to work in Nottingham and be here for the foreseeable future."
All members of Nottingham City Council have been invited to hear from Sir Tony Redmond on Thursday (February 9). The Government's intervention at Nottingham City Council is set to last until September 2024, unless this is amended beforehand.
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