Agenda item

The Mayor invited Lead Commissioner, Gavin Jones to update council on the Ministerial Statements on the intervention in Slough.

Mr Jones informed Members that the Secretary of State had confirmed the intervention period at Slough, which was due to expire in November 2023, was to be extended for a further two year period until November 2026.

Details of the set of directions which the council must achieve and associated powers for commissioners were as set out in the agenda. It was highlighted that due to sufficient improvement having been made in housing benefits, the Commissioner powers relating to this had been removed under the current directions as it was no longer deemed necessary. 

It was noted that in addition to existing commissioners being re-appointed, the Councils Chief Executive had also been appointed as Managing Director Commissioner and that this was a model that had been used in other local authorities under intervention.

The Council was required to operate differently to ensure it could remain sustainable in the future and the implementation of the Target Operating Model would assist in achieving this. A number of the directions specifically related to finance and included medium term financial plan, capital strategy, treasury management strategy and conforming to CIPFA financial management code.

A comprehensive workforce strategy was vital to create a high performance culture, focusing on staff development, retention and recruitment, to enable delivery of the highly challenging agenda.

Other key directions were highlighted as improving systems and processes to further support improved evidence based decisions and improving resident engagement by being more transparent and engaging with communities.

It was noted that the Commissioners would report on progress made on the directions in their next report which was due in April 2025. 

The Mayor thanked Mr Jones for his attendance and updating the council.