Commissioners recommend end of oversight at Rotherham Council

The commissioners sent into Rotherham Council by the government have recommended to ministers that the council no longer needs their oversight.

Three commissioners were appointed by the then Communities Secretary Eric Pickles in 2015 after damning reports by Professor Alexis Jay in 2014 and Louise Casey in 2015 on child sexual exploitation in the borough.

Last September the Government confirmed the return of powers for five of the last six services: community safety; waste management; performance management; asset management; and HR.

An “independent health check” was then conducted earlier this year by a team including Frances Done, a government commissioner with Birmingham City Council, Irene Lucas, a chief executive in local government, and Cllr Imogen Walker, Deputy Leader of Lambeth Council.

This found that: “The council’s governance, decision-making and organisational culture is being transformed and is already much improved. The speed and extent of the improvements delivered since 2015 are impressive.

“We saw a developing culture of accountability, honesty, transparency, openness and engagement. We heard that leadership and management are effective, working well together and are highly regarded by partners, staff and stakeholders. There is a shared vision for the borough and the council and many examples of excellent partnership working.”

Lead Commissioner Mary Ney said: “Commissioners have seen significant improvement in Rotherham Council which is evident from the Independent Health Check report. Members, council officers and partners have worked hard to achieve this and Commissioners are confident that the council can continue to make good progress.”

Cllr Chris Read, Rotherham’s Leader, said: “The Health Check report confirms our view that the council is on the right track, we have seen significant improvements over the last three years, and whilst we continue to face the same challenges as many other local authorities we are now in a strong position to move on from Commissioner intervention.

“It is testament to the hard work and collaboration of Commissioners, members and officers, to improve services for local people. The Health Check report comes just a few months after the ‘Good’ Ofsted rating for our Children’s Services, and together demonstrates the huge changes that have been made.”

Chief Executive Sharon Kemp added: “We will never be complacent about the issues in Rotherham, but this report is a welcome recognition of the improvements that have been made.”

The council said it was now awaiting a response from ministers to the commissioners’ recommendations.