Government to withdraw Rotherham's council commissioners

THE team of Government-imposed commissioners will be removed from Rotherham council, it has been confirmed.
RMBC's Riverside HouseRMBC's Riverside House
RMBC's Riverside House

Communities secretary James Brokenshire announced an end to the three-year intervention, which followed the child sexual exploitation scandal.

A team of five was sent in by the Government in February 2015 after the Casey report found Rotherham Borough Council unfit for purpose.

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Mr Brokenshire said in a written ministerial statement that he is minded to return control of all services to RMBC, including children’s social care, and withdraw the three remaining commissioners.

He added: “Vulnerable young people were repeatedly failed in Rotherham, which is why the Government stepped in to ensure these errors can never occur again.

“The council has made strong progress and, having carefully considered evidence provided by our commissioners, I am minded to return all powers.

“This is not a decision I take lightly, but I am assured the council has turned itself around and is now providing the services that its residents deserve and expect.”

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Nadhim Zahawi, minister for children and families, said: “Keeping children safe is paramount and I am pleased to see the vast improvements Rotherham has made to its children’s services, shown through its recent 'good' Ofsted rating. 

“We all know that for too long, children and young people living there were failed by the authorities in charge of protecting them.

“In these cases the Government will not hesitate to intervene and support improvements but it is down to strong leadership and the hard work of staff at Rotherham that they have been able to turn services around. 

“The ‘minded to’ decision to return the control of all services to the council marks a positive step for this town and I hope the community can continue to move towards a bright future.”

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The remaining commissioners — Mary Ney, Patricia Bradwell and Julie Kenny — recommended an end to their time at the council earlier this year, saying there had been sufficient improvement.

Powers have been gradually returned to RMBC since the start of the intervention, which had originally been set to continue until spring 2019.

Mr Brokenshire said the Government was continuing to work with the council and South Yorkshire’s police commissioner to secure funding for victims identified through the National Crime Agency’s Operation Stovewood.

The council has a period of four weeks to make representations on the proposals before the secretary of state makes a final decision. 

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