Middlesbrough Council has been warned it could still face Government intervention as a Best Value Notice was served for another six months.

A 12-month notice was first issued to the local authority in January 2023 amid concerns over governance issues. The notification from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) informs councils they are not meeting expectations and statutory intervention would be considered if they fail to improve.

A new letter published on the DLUHC website has now revealed the council will be scrutinised for a further six months under a revised Best Value Notice. After this time it could be reissued, withdrawn or escalated to statutory intervention if improvements were not delivered “at sufficient pace”.

The letter from Local Government Minister Simon Hoare MP said: “Your council has worked well with the department and has set out and implemented a range of improvement measures to begin to effectively address the identified concerns. We thank the council for this work.”

However he added: “We are also aware that more work is still to be embedded to ensure sustained and material improvements particularly in relation to financial sustainability, delivery of transformation and effectively implementing new strategies to embed positive cultures.”

Responding to the notice, the Mayor of Middlesbrough Chris Cooke said the authority had been working hard on solving “problems from the past”. He said: “I had a very productive call with the minister earlier this week and it’s really encouraging to see that the updated notice reflect the progress the council has made.

Darlington and Stockton Times: Middlesbrough Mayor Chris Cooke

“We’re working incredibly hard with the Independent Improvement Advisory Board, the Local Government Association and DLUHC to respond properly to all the concerns. Governance and demonstrating value for money is absolutely fundamental to all public bodies. We know what still needs to be done and we won’t be taking our eye off the ball.”

The department expects the council to continue working with the Independent Improvement Board to deliver improvement strategies and organisational transformation and implement cultural change, particularly in relation to relationships between officers and councillors. It is also required to set a balanced three-year medium term financial plan.

Earlier this month, council leaders agree to seek £15m in exceptional financial support in bid to balance books and avoid a section 114 notice. The cash would be used to plug a gap of at least £6.3m in the budget for 2024/25 as well funding redundancies.

It could also be put towards delivery of a programme of change aimed at transforming services at the troubled local authority, as well as replenishing its dwindling reserves.