I am today publishing the best value inspection report into Thurrock Council, authored by their inspector, Essex County Council. The final version of this report was submitted to the Secretary of State on 19 May 2023, following a representations process whereby any particular individuals criticised were given an opportunity to read and respond to those relevant parts of the report before it was published.
This publication follows my update to the House on 16 March in which I confirmed that the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and I had formally expanded the Government intervention in Thurrock Council, appointing Dr Dave Smith as an independent managing director commissioner, and providing commissioners with further powers over Thurrock’s governance and staffing functions.
The best value inspection report details widespread failure in Thurrock Council’s financial, governance, and leadership functions. The challenges facing Thurrock “stem from a series of self-sustaining, systemic weaknesses which have allowed for repeated failure over many years." Although individual officers and members made significant mistakes, particularly in relation to financial investments, they were operating within broken systems at the council which are in urgent need of reform and improvement.
The report clearly sets out the events which led to the collapse of the council's commercial investment strategy last year, after that strategy was allowed to operate in an environment with wholly inadequate scrutiny and governance arrangements.
That failure has had profound consequences for the council’s financial sustainability, and the inspection report confirms that Thurrock is unable to balance its budget without exceptional financial support from Government, which has now been granted in principle for the financial year 2022-23. Going forward, the report makes it clear that in addition to realising extensive efficiency savings, the council will have to review the scope of its local services.
The report reveals that the pattern of failure which has characterised the council’s approach to commercial investment can also be seen in its delivery of major infrastructure and regeneration projects. These failings have resulted in the loss of substantial sums of public money. The council’s lack of openness and transparency prevented these failings from being properly scrutinised, and these losses were often concealed, or not properly reported.
The report concludes that these failings are attributable to the breakdown of political and managerial leadership; inadequate governance arrangements; and profound weaknesses in the council’s control environment.
The Government’s Response
The best value inspection report makes a number of recommendations, some of which pertain to actions that the council should take, for example to expand the scope of its improvement and recovery plan, and some of which relate to expanding the powers of commissioners.