‘There is clearly a lot of work to be done to improve Slough Borough Council', its top boss said – just hours before the Government said it would keep it under observation for an extra two years.

Speaking on Monday, October 21, chief executive Will Tuckley said the council was showing signs of improvement – but admitted its performance was ‘variable’.

Mr Tuckley said: “The performance of the council is variable. It is good to see us slightly on the side of meeting targets than not and slightly on the side of improving rather than not.

READ MORE: Fate of leading councillor’s home extension to be decided after planning breach

“There is clearly a lot of work to be done to meet our targets and improve the services in a focussed and concentrated way.”

Mr Tuckley’s words came just hours before the Government announced that it would extend its intervention at Slough Borough Council until November 2026.

The Government appointed commissioners to oversee the running of the council after it went effectively bankrupt in 2021.

Their oversight had been set to end next month. But in an announcement on Tuesday, October 22, commissioners said the council still has to ‘demonstrate that it can live within its means’.

They said the council is a long way from being back on stable footing, and that there is still ‘too much volatility’ in its finances and its leadership.

READ MORE: Student, 14, arrested after girl hospitalised in 'knife' incident

And they added the council ‘does not have the confidence of its residents’ and that there is ‘low morale’ among its staff.

Mr Tuckley’s comments came at a meeting of the council’s cabinet – its body of leading councillors – the evening before the commissioners’ announcement.

The cabinet had been presented with a report on the council’s performance in the first months of the financial year starting in April. It showed that some services had improved– but standards in others had fallen or were not up to scratch.

For instance it showed that the council had prevented 17 cases of homelessness in July, up from seven in the month before. It also completed 100 per cent of emergency housing repairs on time in June and July.

READ MORE: Council ‘stands by’ decision to block film studio after government steps in

However it is on course to make just 79.4 per cent of the savings it had hoped to make this year. And a residents’ survey showed just 25 per cent of people trust the council a great deal or a fair amount, and only 50 per cent are very or fairly satisfied with the area as a place to live.

Councillor Wal Chahal – responsible for finance – said the report is meant to show the public the council’s performance ‘warts and all’.

He added that staff are ‘working tirelessly to ensure that we improve the services that we are providing’ and that the council is ‘on the road to recovery’.