Today, we are pleased to say that the Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP has announced that he is considering exercising his powers to send independent commissioners into Sandwell Council, with the intention of assisting the local authority in performing its duties of governance and scrutiny properly and thoroughly.
We would like to thank the Secretary of State and his department for taking these steps, which are vital in putting an end to people across Sandwell being let down. It has gone on for far too long.
It is well known that Sandwell Council has publicly faced many problems over the years, and as local Members of Parliament we are reminded of their failure to govern effectively on a daily basis. The poor decisions and mismanagement at this local authority that have accumulated over decades has undoubtedly affected the lives of the most vulnerable in Sandwell. Furthermore, the rotating door of leadership, both politically and in officers, has done nothing but prolong the ingrained poisonous culture that must end.
Together, we have privately made representations to Government over the need for intervention due to our deep and persistent concerns. This work dates back prior to 2018 – since then, it has become evermore apparent that Sandwell Council requires external help in order to keep up some of the positive changes they have made so far, as well as enabling them to deal with the huge number of issues and concerns beyond this.
The Secretary of State has made a call for representations from stakeholders across Sandwell on his proposals by 11th February, and we would encourage any interested local residents to do this. Further details on this will be provided.
We are firm in our collective view, that many of the issues we see in Sandwell today could have been fixed if more effort had been put into improving the lives of residents, rather than serving personal and political interests.
We hope that this next step finally leads to trust in our local authority, as well as much better services and value for money for local taxpayers.
Nicola Richards MP, James Morris MP, Shaun Bailey MP
