Nottingham City Council has made a formal representation to the government to request that commissioners are not appointed as the move would “reduce democratic accountability”.
The government said in December that it was “minded to” appoint three commissioners at the authority following the issuance of a section 114 notice.
This would be part of a package of measures aimed at securing the council’s compliance with its best value duty.
Nottingham was given until 2 January to make a formal representation before a final decision is made about the proposal. If the plan is confirmed, Nottingham Council’s officers and councillors will work alongside commissioners in the areas designated by the secretary of state.
An Improvement and Assurance Board has already been in place at Nottingham since 2021, overseeing improvements and issuing instructions for specific areas of work to be undertaken.
Nottingham City Council has responded to the government proposals to appoint commissioners by outlining its belief that the existing government intervention is enough, citing improvements already made and the potential impact on democracy.
David Mellen, council leader, said: “Clearly the appointment of commissioners would be very disappointing and not something that that we would want to happen. Any decision that reduces democratic accountability, however limited and temporary this may be, should not be taken lightly.”
He noted the progress already made on a number of the improvements expected of the council by the government and the Improvement and Assurance Board. “In particular, we had set a balanced budget and medium term financial plan in March prior to the soaring inflation, high energy costs and increased demand for services supporting vulnerable people that have severely affected the finances of councils up and down the country,” Mellen said.
“These pressures have meant our budget is overspent this year leading to a section 114 report being issued by our chief finance officer, which has clearly been a factor along with recent reports from the Improvement and Assurance Board, in the government’s announcement that it is minded to appoint commissioners.”
Mellen also pointed to “specific issues” in Nottingham due to decisions made in the past which have “affected the council’s financial reserves and resilience”, although he conceded these were not the cause of the overspend in the current year.
He also mentioned government underfunding as a partial cause of the council’s “very challenging” financial situation.
Mel Barrett, the council’s chief executive, stressed that while the council’s “strong preference” is to continue working with the Improvement and Assurance Board, Nottingham is “committed to working effectively with whatever arrangements government put in place, so that the intervention can be as successful as possible in as short a time as possible”.
He said: “Whilst a lot of progress has been made, we need to go further and faster to consistently demonstrate we are providing Best Value for local people and we will ensure we work effectively with the commissioners.”
A section 114 report was issued by Nottingham’s chief finance officer on 29 November after he determined that a forecasted £23m overspend would mean the council would be unable to meet its legal requirement to deliver a balanced budget this year.
The Improvement and Assurance Board’s most recent report suggested that the authority is not acting at the required pace of change, highlighting weaknesses in finance, transformation, and the underlying culture of the organisation in respect to governance and the workforce.
As a result, levelling up secretary Michael Gove was said to be “minded to escalate” the current intervention arrangements. He has proposed appointing three commissioners for two years, including a lead commissioner, a commissioner for finance and a commissioner for transformation.
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