Government oversight of cash-strapped Slough Borough Council is to continue for another two years, a minister has confirmed – saying a ‘substantial’ number of areas still need to improve.

Commissioners with the power to take control of council decisions were sent to Slough by the Government after the local authority went effectively bankrupt in 2021.

The oversight was scheduled to end this month – but the Government announced on Wednesday, November 20, that it would extend this until 2026. Local government minister Jim McMahon said this was because the council was not meeting its duty to provide ‘best value’.

In a written statement he said: “There are still a substantial number of areas which require further improvement at the council, and there remains volatility in the council’s overall financial position.”

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The announcement comes after a report by the commissioners published last month recommended extending their intervention.

In their report the commissioners said the council ‘will need to demonstrate that it can live within its means’ before they can allow it to operate independently again. It found there was still ‘too much volatility’ in its finances and leadership.

It said this means the council has to deliver its programme of selling off property to cover its debts, and ‘further drive down costs’.

The report also found the council ‘does not have the confidence of its residents’ and that there was ‘low morale’ among its staff.

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The continued intervention means the commissioners will still be able to have the final say over council decisions or to take decisions on its behalf. That means the council won’t be independent of the Government for at least another two years.

But council leader Dexter Smith and chief executive Will Tuckley welcomed the announcement, and said that they’d asked the Government to continue its oversight.

Councillor Smith said the extension will mean the council has more time to improve. He said: “We know that there is no quick or easy way to turn round our council’s fortunes. The situation we are dealing with has been years in the making and so it will take years to resolve.

“We know there is no quick fix to reducing our extremely high debt levels, or to getting the council to live within its means and deliver best value services.”

He added: “Residents should start to see evidence, and feel the benefits, of continuous improvement towards these goals. Now we have the extra time and help from government to do that.”