Simon Clarke, Conservative MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland and Conservative Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen made the formal request in a scathing letter to Simon Hoare MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Government. They said Government commissioners should be brought in “before matters deteriorate further” at the local authority.
It comes as the council battles to plug an expected funding gap of almost £6.3m for 2024/25 while facing dwindling reserves. Responding to the news, Labour Middlesbrough MP Andy McDonald said the move by Mr Houchen and Sir Clarke was “vindictive and wholly irresponsible”, describing it as “a party political stunt”.
Mayor of Middlesbrough, Chris Cooke, said the letter to Mr Hoare was “littered with inaccuracies” and the call for commissioners to step in was “a call to abandon Middlesbrough”. He added: “In practical terms, this means cutting all non-mandatory services, cutting jobs and putting vulnerable people at grave risk.”
The letter, dated 13 December and co-signed by four Conservative councillors, says: “Faced with asset disposals, service cuts and closures on an unprecedented scale, we believe that the public in Middlesbrough could face no worse outcomes under a statutory intervention, and might actually enjoy better options, in particular, if sustainable plans to address the very high number of adults and children needing support from social services can be developed and/or strengthened through external expertise.
This view was echoed by the interim chief executive at the council, Clive Heaphy, who said the letter highlights issues which “in the main date back a number of years”. He said the financial position of the council “results from a past reliance on reserves to balance the budget rather than a willingness to transform our services.”
Labour took back control of Middlesbrough Council in May this year. Mr Heaphy said culture and governance arrangements had been “under close scrutiny” since auditors first expressed concerns in 2021-22.
The letter, co-signed by councillors, Mieka Smiles, David Coupe, Luke Mason and Luke Hurst, highlighted the fact the council’s statutory accounts for the financial year 2022-23 have not been published. In response, Mr Heaphy insisted there was “no lack of transparency” around the council’s finances, adding: “Indeed, the publicly available budget report for 2024-25 published this week sets out the situation in the clearest possible terms.”
The letter also notes the approved asset review which includes the sale of council property including TeesAMP business park, Middlesbrough House and Middlesbrough Municipal Golf Centre. The letter described it as a “fire sale” which “warrants serious debate” and questioned the estimated £33m expected to be raised.
The council’s Budget proposals also came under fire, noting, in particular in particular, plans to consult on ending weekly bin collections, charging for garden waste and closing the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum in Marton. It also referenced nearly £8m in spending on the council’s corporate purchase cards.
As reported, a probe into children’s services use of the cards between between April 2022 and August 2023, found “significant gaps, weaknesses or non-compliance” and concluded improvement is required. At an audit committee meeting on Thursday, councillors were told 71% of the total spend in 2022/2023 that period was “on contract”.
In a statement, Cllr Nicky Walker, Executive member for finance and governance, said: “This means there were contractual arrangements in place and the card was simply used as the most convenient method of payment.
“Where expenditure is ‘off contract’, purchase cards are used most often to provide urgent services for vulnerable children in our care or where it is not feasible to go through the normal ordering and invoicing processes. While the descriptions of payments used obviously attract attention, it is important to stress that in the vast majority of cases, this money is spent on delivering Council services for vulnerable people.”
Mr McDonald slammed the request to the Government as “reckless political posturing”. He said Middlesbrough Council had “moved heaven and earth to correct the errors of the previous Independent-Conservative administration”. He also said the local authority was doing “everything within its power to ameliorate the impact of year after year of budget cuts.”
Mr Heaphy said the council’s focus is responding to concerns raised by auditors and the government and “delivering the best services we can to the people of Middlesbrough.” In a final note, he said: “I’d like to make a point about public criticism of staff by politicians who perhaps lack understanding of how the Council operates. In all my years in local government, I have never come across staff as dedicated and committed to providing services to residents as I have in Middlesbrough.
“Their professionalism and commitment to the challenges we face are not in question.”
