Ministerial envoys sent into North West council as part of five-year intervention

The move comes after a best value inspection report published in May found that the local authority was not complying with its best value duty. It also highlighted concerns over the council’s investment decisions and governance.

As of March 2023, relative to size, Warrington had the second highest level of debt for a unitary authority in England (£1.8 billion).

In a written ministerial statement today (9 July), McMahon said he was satisfied that Warrington is not complying with its best value duty in relation to 'Continuous Improvement', 'Leadership', 'Governance', 'Culture', and 'Use of Resources'.

The four envoys are:

• Sir Stephen Houghton, Leader of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council since 1988
• Harry Catherall, former chief executive at Stockport Council and Blackburn with Darwen Council, and current interim chief executive at Tameside Council
• Carolyn Williamson, chief executive of Hampshire County Council since 2021, and
• Phil Brookes, a crown representative at the Cabinet Office.

The latter three will have powers to exercise functions, which they will treat as held in reserve, the minister revealed.

McMahon summarised the directions issued under the Local Government Act 1999 as requiring Warrington to:

• prepare and agree an Improvement and Recovery Plan within six months, with progress reports to the Ministerial Envoys after the first three months and ongoing reporting thereafter.
• undertake recruitment for a permanent appointment to lead the improvement work in the Authority and progress against the Directions.
• review, in the first 24 months, the roles and case for continuing with each subsidiary company and investment of the authority.
• work with the Local Government Association to agree a suitable time for a follow up review to their 2024 Corporate Peer Challenge.
• fully co-operate with the envoys and take any reasonable action within the authority’s functions to prevent further failure, as reasonably determined by the envoys.

McMahon said: “The success of Warrington is important both for its own benefit, and that of the region with its critical role in devolution which offers significant opportunities to drive up growth, improve transport connectivity and build new homes, as well as raising living standards for its population.”

He added that he expected the council to drive its own improvement with the support, challenge, and advice from the envoys.

The powers exercisable “as a last resort” by the envoys are over the following functions:

• to ensure the council has the leadership, structures and systems in place to drive and sustain improvement – “including governance and scrutiny of strategic decision-making, oversight of financial management, and the appointment, dismissal and performance management of senior and statutory officer positions”.
• to address the root causes of Warrington’s challenges “by strengthening the authority’s approach to commercial decision-making, property management, procurement and the management of commercial projects”;
• to support financial sustainability “by closing short- and long-term budget gaps, reducing reliance on high-risk commercial income, and strictly limiting further borrowing and capital spending”;
• To enable transformation of the authority’s operating model and services to deliver value for money and long-term financial resilience;

Responding to the announcement, Cllr Hans Mundry, Leader of Warrington Borough Council, said: “We welcome the confirmation of the ministerial envoys. We look forward to working alongside them positively and receiving their expert challenge and support.

“We have always seen the appointment of envoys as a supportive step. Knowing who our envoys will be provides us with important clarity as we continue to work at pace on driving forward our improvement plan.

“It’s our commitment to keep working relentlessly, as we have done in recent months, to address the recommendations that have been made to us through the best value process. Our envoys will help us to strengthen this work, and we look forward to them joining us.”

The envoys will provide their first report in six months, with further reports every six months or as agreed with the envoys.

More documents on the intervention at Warrington, including an explanatory memorandum, can be found here.