24.05.16
Inquiry launched into post-scandal Tower Hamlets and Rotherham council takeovers
The Communities and Local Government Committee (CLG) is inviting written submissions that can shed light on council takeover processes following the notorious Tower Hamlets corruption scandal and the Rotherham child sex abuse scheme.
As part of the investigation, motivated by its previous report that dug into the large-scale child sexual exploitation scheme that unfolded in Rotherham, the CLG will examine the effectiveness of central government takeovers and the subsequent processes of handing back power to councils.
Commissioners took over grant-making functions in Tower Hamlets in late 2014, as well as the sale or disposal of property and council publicity.
In Rotherham, they took over executive control of the whole local authority, whose cabinet resigned en masse earlier this year after an investigation deemed it “not fit for purpose”.
As a result, the committee also aims to identify any lessons for possible future interventions.
Labour’s Clive Betts, chair of the committee, said: “Seizing control of a local authority's powers is an extremely serious step for any government to take.
“We will look very carefully to see if this has been done effectively in Tower Hamlets and Rotherham and explore the efforts being made to return democratic control to the two communities. The committee is also keen to see if the process can be improved for possible cases in the future.”
Through written submissions, relevant parties can discuss the actions taken by both councils to address their failings before commissioners were imposed; the criteria for imposing commissioners; the effectiveness and performance of these commissioners; and their governance and decision-making processes, as well as their general relationship with elected councillors.
Bodies can also write about DCLG procedures and criteria for handing back functions to the councils and the extent to which other councils responded to and learned lessons from Rotherham and Tower Hamlets.
The deadline for submissions is 13 June.
(Top image: c. Lynne Cameron, PA Wire)
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