Government intervention may be needed at Slough Borough Council beyond the currently stated end point of 30 November 2024, according to commissioners.
The pace of improvement at the authority has been “insufficient and inconsistent given the stage of the intervention”, according to the government-appointed commissioners’ latest report.
Slough has been under government intervention since 1 December 2021, with the commissioners’ latest report dated 17 January and published today (22 February).
In a written statement to parliament, minister for local government Simon Hoare said it was “of concern that the council has not accelerated the pace of improvement, especially on tackling organisational transformation, developing a future operating model and that continued financial instability remains a concern”.
He told parliament that commissioners were “now of the opinion the government needs to consider the nature of the intervention beyond the current timelines” as much still needs to be done before the council meets its best value duty.
Hoare has written to commissioners to request a further assessment of progress in April 2024, at which point it will be decided whether intervention will be extended beyond November 2024.
In a letter to commissioners in response to their report, though, Hoare noted that the council is “developing a more strategic approach to financial planning and has presented its medium-term financial strategy alongside a 2024/25 draft budget proposal to December Cabinet”.
Looking specifically at Slough’s financial situation, the commissioners’ report stated: “Financial sustainability remains the biggest risk to the council. Members and officers have worked well together to identify savings, in order to set a balanced budget for 2024/25 and the medium term. However, commissioners are concerned that there are inherent risks in the balance sheet and prior years revenue budgets and until resolved an over reliance on reserves in order to balance budgets should be avoided.”
The commissioners added that “a number of emerging financial issues” have been spotted since their last report “that could easily have destabilised the council”. These relate to “key funds within which core income streams such as council tax, business rates, capital receipts and other credit balances are held”.
The report added: “However, with strong commissioner expertise, the issues were dealt with although still requiring additional borrowing and higher service based financial savings. The council needs to think carefully about how it will strengthen its revenue base in the medium term, to avoid an over reliance on limited reserves and potentially optimistic service-based savings.”
The report recommended that council, through its officers, carries out “its own in-depth review, commissioning if required, the necessary capability to lead the health checks and challenge”, ensuring “financial reporting is fully understood, strengthened, and managed effectively, examining the key risk areas and providing clear and understandable information in relation to financial performance, sensitivity, and balance sheet risk, with timely and well-informed intervention when things go wrong”.
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