Middlesbrough Council: Ministers threaten to intervene

A review last year found concerns over bullying and intimidation within Middlesbrough Council

Ministers could intervene at a council where staff said they felt bullied and embarrassed by politicians' behaviour.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has written to Middlesbrough Council's chief executive saying it could inspect or intervene if the authority failed to improve.

In July an external audit showed a lack of trust among councillors and staff.

Chief executive Tony Parkinson said "dedication" to making improvements would continue.

Last year's audit also found the appointment of Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston's advisor, along with payments to his PR firm that had been signed off by Mr Parkinson, had both been unlawful.

It found the lack of trust between staff and politicians had been having an impact on governance at the council.

A review was carried out three months later by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (Cipfa), which found there were concerns over bullying and intimidation within the council.

In November auditors EY said they would not take further action against the council after steps were taken to tackle problems.

The government had ordered the council to continue efforts to address the issues but the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said ministers were still concerned.

Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston said he was dedicated to ensuring positive cultural changes at the council

In the letter to Mr Parkinson, it said Secretary of State Michael Gove would consider powers to inspect or intervene in the council if there was a failure to improve, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The letter added: "The department expects authorities to identify and implement arrangements to secure continuous improvement and acknowledges the steps you have taken to identify the serious issues at Middlesbrough and the action plan that you have put in place to address these.

"However, ministers remain concerned as to Middlesbrough's capacity to comply with its Best Value Duty."

The Best Value Notice, which is a notification that informs councils they are not meeting expectations, is in place for 12 months.

The DLUHC said it also wanted to see continued efforts to implement cultural change, particularly between council officers and politicians.

'Already taken steps'

In a joint statement, Mr Parkinson and Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston said they remained "committed to our governance improvement programme" and they were "fully engaged" with Cipfa on this work.

"We've already taken steps to address these issues and put in place an action plan, and we're pleased that the DLUHC has acknowledged the progress we've made so far," they said.

"We fully acknowledge the seriousness of the Best Value Notice and are committed to demonstrating the progress the DLUHC rightly expect."

They said the council had delivered "hundreds of services that residents, business and visitors to the town rely on" and its staff "do a brilliant job and they have our wholehearted backing and support".

"Alongside our everyday activities, our dedication to ensuring positive cultural and governance changes will continue," they added.

Since the initial findings, an improvement board has been set up and councillors have also been involved in working groups to tackle key issues.