TWO government officials have been appointed to oversee the council’s financial recovery – and are expected to visit Slough tomorrow.

The Department of Levelling up, Housing, and Communities, has announced today (December 1) that it will be appointing lead commissioner Max Caller, and finance commissioner Margaret Lee.

Both commissioners will be in Slough until 2024 and could cost the taxpayers up to £1m a year. The lead commissioner could be paid £2,400 and their assistant £2,100 per week.

They will oversee and assist the council in digging it out of its financial burdens. They also hold reserved powers and could use them if they are not satisfied with the council’s progress.

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These powers include:

  • The governance and scrutiny of strategic decision-making by the council.
  • The strategic financial management of the council.
  • The oversight of collection of revenues and the distribution of benefits by the council.
  • Appointment and dismissal of statutory officers

Mr Caller led the Best Value Inspections at Northamptonshire and Liverpool and was a commissioner at Tower Hamlets.  He is a former chief executive of the London Boroughs of Hackney and Barnet and the former chairman of the Local Government Boundary Commission for England.

Margaret Lee recently retired from Essex County Council where she held the post of executive director for corporate and customer services. As well as holding senior finance roles.

She was responsible for other support services such as legal and assurance services, procurement, and the transformation support team. She is the finance lead on the Improvement and Assurance Panel for the London Borough of Croydon.

 

Cllr James Swindlehurst

Cllr James Swindlehurst

 

Council leader James Swindlehurst said he “looked forward” to welcoming the commissioners and together will make “major strides” in “righting the wrongs” of the council’s past.

“The council remains in a very challenging position financially.

“We have worked over the summer to identify savings, reducing large budget gaps in both the current year and for 2022/23.

“We are now addressing the recommendations from the two government-commissioned reports and preparing a new Medium Term Financial Strategy – which will inevitably involve further difficult decisions.

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“The council is in constructive discussions with government to conclude how much of our financial repair can be funded through capitalisation (sales of capital assets), with SBC having requested a significant sum.”

The commissioners are expected to visit Slough for the first time on Thursday, December 2.