Minister orders external review at Slough after Commissioners suggest council is “plateauing”

Slough has been subject to intervention since December 2021, after it was found to have failed its best value duty. The intervention was extended in November 2024 until November 2026.

The Government’s decision to appoint external reviewers – with Dame Mary Ney named as Lead Reviewer and Will Godfrey as Supporting Reviewer – comes after Commissioners in their seventh report concluded that “despite continued hard work by many, the council has struggled to maintain and build on its previous progress, leading to a sense of ‘plateauing’.”

In a written ministerial statement, McGovern said the tentative progress identified in the Commissioners’ sixth report had not been sustained.

She wrote: “Some progress has been made, with the internal audit plan being delivered and the internal audit and counter fraud teams increasing visibility, targeting training, and becoming an indispensable part of good governance within the council.

“However, the council is still working to improve the implementation of audit recommendations and procurement compliance through better data use. There remain significant in year budget pressures and a lack of strategic focus and delivery of transformation plans and programmes.”

The Minister said she was concerned with the pace of improvement, four years into intervention.

“Progress remains slow and the council lacks resilience to withstand unforeseen changes. Slough remains far from where we expect it to be at this stage of the intervention, with the council still facing significant budget challenges and requiring transparent governance, and strong, corporate leadership."

She added: “It remains imperative that the council does not lose sight of the scale of the improvement journey in front of them. I expect the council to continue to put in place all necessary measures required, and I am grateful for the ongoing support of Commissioners in ensuring the council’s stability.”

The Minister said the review would assess Slough’s improvement trajectory under intervention and identify what if any further support is required to drive immediate progress and to put the council on a long-term sustainable footing.

The role of the Commissioners at Slough will remain unchanged during the review period.

The Minister said she expects the review to report back by May 2026.

Responding to the announcement, Cllr Dexter Smith, leader of Slough Borough Council, said: “The report from the commissioners rightly holds us to account for our progress, which has been slower than any of us have wished for.

“Since the report was written, we have made small but vital improvements including a robust and comprehensive transformation programme being approved by Cabinet in February, and the Medium-Term Financial Strategy which is expected to be ratified by Full Council this evening.

“The intervention has been running in Slough for more than four years now and even longer with the Department for Education.

“We believe this review will offer fresh perspective on the council’s progress under intervention. It is an opportunity to address the progress we have made, the work still to be done and provide an opportunity for renewed momentum which will benefit us, but most of all our town.”

In their seventh report, the Commissioners said there had been serious financial challenges emerging that Slough had yet to effectively respond to, putting at risk the financial sustainability of the council.

“There is a significant in-year financial gap and to date there has been limited progress in identifying mitigating savings. In turn this is having an impact on the viability of the council’s medium term financial position,” they said.

The Commissioners added that whilst there had been attempts to develop a credible transformation plan, progress had been slow.

The seventh report said: “Under the leadership of the Managing Director Commissioner (MDC) the council has recently procured third party support to help them define their TOM [Target Operating Model] and to identify the potential for significant financial savings through transformation. To capitalise on this work going forward, the council will need to enhance its leadership capacity and capability and implement appropriate governance arrangements to drive through implementation at pace.”

The Commissioners noted that an adverse change in this year’s budget had impacted broader leadership confidence and motivation at a time when the council needed to demonstrate a “step change” in the pace of improvement.

“The CLT is working with support to bring them together as a collegiate team with a common purpose and this remains work in progress. Similarly, the administration needs to do more to ‘speak with one voice’. Effective joint working of the two leadership teams will give the council the best chance of making progress at pace and responding to any future events the council may face that could destabilise progress.”

However, the report warned that “without a significant step change in its performance, the council will not be able to achieve its best value duty and to build a sustainable financial future.

“It must urgently work to resolve its in year budget challenges and to identify future financial savings to produce a balanced Medium Term Financial Plan.”

Last month the Government confirmed that Slough would be one of 35 councils to receive exceptional financial support, with £42.889m agreed in principle.