London (Parliament Politics Magazine) – The UK government has decided to intervene in the management of Tower Hamlets council in east London, following a critical report by inspectors, mentioning the administration’s failure to “effectively” manage local tensions over Gaza and some other concerns.
The inspection report revealed a poor breakdown of trust, and respect among political parties and senior management at Tower Hamlets Council, allowing Mayor Lutfur Rahman’s inner circle to dominate decision-making.
Lutfur Rahman was previously permitted from holding public office following a 2015 High Court ruling that he had won the 2014 Tower Hamlet elections through “corrupt and illegal practices”.
The government is ready to appoint ministerial envoys to monitor Tower Hamlets council’s decision-making processes, marking a significant setback for independent mayor Lutfur Rahman.
Inspection officers also said, “It is not clear that the Council has acted particularly effectively to manage tensions” amid the issue of Gaza.
He was elected mayor in 2022 after his ban expired, but earlier this year, the government sent audit officers following converse over the council’s culture and recourse management.
Local Government Association (LGA) reported in late 2023 a “lack of trust between the mayor’s office and senior officers, with examples of inappropriate questioning and pressure to feed things into the mayor’s office for ‘sign off’.”
This detailed report was submitted in July and released after a couple of months on Tuesday. The report revealed that “several positive features at the Council” and “steps to make improvements” had been observed based on previous evaluations.
The report also identified a “lack of respect and co-operation between political parties which is having a negative effect on good governance”.
Inspections officers said, “We observed a full Council meeting in which female opposition councillors felt unsafe.”
The report found “insufficient evidence that the council undertook meaningful and comprehensive consultation with key partners, staff and service users before decisions were taken in some key areas”.
Inspectors stated the council’s scrutiny culture as “weak and confused” and the administration as “suspicious and defensive in its behaviour”.
Inspectors reported, “Some residents have wished to demonstrate their views through the flying of Palestinian flags in the area. Others have found the presence and extent of these flags concerning. We consider that the Council has been too slow to respond to this issue”.
The audit report also said: “Schools also raised that they felt exposed to risk and unsupported by the Council as a result of the lack of appropriate guidance from the Council following 7 October 2023 on issues arising from the situation in Gaza. In the absence of timely advice from the Council, schools fell back onto the generic government Department for Education advice”.
Inspectors said, “We are not aware of any corporate communications from the Council’s leadership to its staff or with schools about the conflict and impacts in the local area, and understand some Jewish staff members to have felt uneasy as a result of this omission”.
The government statement insisted, “A culture of patronage, even if not at play in every appointment, is perceived as pervasive enough to undermine trust between members, staff and leadership, as well as with external stakeholders”.
In a statement issued by the local government minister Jim McMahon on Tuesday, stated that inspectors wrote serious issues “across a number of areas” which led to the conclusion that the council is not working rightly. In order to assist the council to achieve the necessary improvements, I am minded to appoint a ministerial envoy and assistant envoy to act as adviser, mentor and monitor to the council, and to oversee its improvement work, he added.
He continued, “The ministerial envoys will work comprehensively within the council to oversee the proposed changes to the board, including agreeing its scheme of work and meeting agendas, preparation of the council’s Continuous Improvement Plan and an open recruitment exercise to appoint a permanent lead for the council’s improvement work”.
“They will attend meetings, provide ad hoc advice and challenge, and be available to senior leadership for support. They will also work closely with the board leads for governance, leadership and culture and partnerships to ensure the realisation of comprehensive programmes of cultural change and political mentoring. I am proposing directing the council to co-operate with the ministerial envoys, and to allow them all reasonable access to their premises, documents, employees or members in support of their work”.
In a statement issued by Tower Hamlets Council as a response, “Tower Hamlets Council is committed to working with the Government on our continuous journey of improvement”.
“We welcome the Government’s decision to appoint an envoy rather than send in commissioners, with a plan to work together with us on a support package, with the council retaining all its powers”.
“We look forward to working with the ministerial envoy to build on the good peer review we received from the Local Government Association and an improved Investors in People inspection silver rating”.
“We look forward to working in partnership with the new Government and the envoy as equals, along with continuing to deliver for our residents and businesses”.