Agenda item

That the report be noted and preparations be made to support the arrival of commissioners who were expected to be appointed for a period of three years by the Secretary of State for Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DHULC) in the coming weeks.

The Cabinet received a report that set out a summary of the recommendations in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) governance and CIPFA reviews and the appointment of commissioners to Slough for three years.

The Leader stated that the Council had formally responded to the two reports.  The Council had accepted the reports in full and good initial progress had been made to address each of the recommendations.  Intensive work had been carried out in recent months to address the severe financial challenge facing the Council and this would continue as part of the recovery and renewal process.

The Council had welcomed the appointment of commissioners and the Cabinet noted that it was expected the Government would appoint two or three commissioners to be in place by the end of November.  Lead Members commented on the reports and asked whether further steps could be taken to accelerate progress on the Council’s recovery.  A comprehensive response to each recommendation was set out in a report elsewhere on the agenda, which would also be considered at full Council on 23^rd November, and there would be a series of challenging decisions in the future for Members to consider.

Speaking under Rule 30, Councillor Strutton confirmed that the Conservative Group also accepted the findings of the reports.  He commented that the Council leadership should support the Commissioners without obstruction and that some of the basic failings identified in the governance report, such as IT, needed to be urgently addressed.  The Leader responded, including to confirm that the Cabinet would work constructively with the new commissioners in the same way as the Council had done with the children’s services commissioner.  The work being done by the Executive Board to address IT issues was noted.

At the conclusion of the discussion the Cabinet noted the report.

Resolved –  That the report be noted and preparations be made to support the arrival of commissioners who were expected to be appointed for a period of three years by the Secretary of State for Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC) in the coming weeks.