Just four Government officials appointed to help Slough Borough Council ‘live within its means’ could be paid more than £1.5 million over two years.

The Government announced on Wednesday, November 20, that it would extend its oversight of the cash-strapped council until November 2026. It means that Government-appointed officials – earning as much as £1,200 a day – will stay on to monitor the council for another two years.

Local government minister Jim McMahon said the council would have to pay for their fees – but that the ‘scale of the challenge’ meant the appointments were ‘value for money’.

Mr McMahon said: “The council will be required to cover the costs associated with the commissioners.

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“I am assured this provides value for money given the expertise that is being brought, and the scale of the challenge in councils requiring statutory intervention.”

Government officials – known as ‘best value commissioners’ – have been in place at Slough Borough Council since it went effectively bankrupt in 2021. They are responsible for overseeing the council’s recovery, and have the power to make decisions on its behalf if needed.

Their intervention had been set to end this month – but was extended for two years as the Commissioners said the council had still not shown it could ‘live within its means’.

The lead commissioner Gavin Jones is entitled to claim fees of £1,200 a day for a maximum of 150 days a year. Two other commissioners – Denise Murray and Gerard Curran – can each claim £1,100 a day, also for a maximum of 150 days a year.

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Will Tuckley has newly been appointed as a ‘managing director commissioner’ to act as a link between the other commissioners and council senior managers. He can claim £1,100 a day, up to 260 days a year, but this will also pay for his other role as the council’s chief executive.

If each of them claimed their full allowance over the two years, it would cost the council £1,592,000.

The Government department responsible for the appointments – the ministry for housing, communities and local government – declined to comment further on why the four salaries were ‘value for money’.

A spokesperson instead pointed the Observer to Mr McMahon’s statement on 20 November.

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Slough Borough Council has no say over the appointments or the fees. But council leader Dexter Smith said he has asked for the extended intervention, which he said would give the authority more time to get back on its feet.

And Mr Tuckley said the Government intervention is ‘essential’. In a statement on Wednesday, November 20, he said: “It is well recognised there is much work to do to rebuild the council and regain financial stability.

“The ongoing support from Government is essential to meeting the challenges as we work towards a better future.”