The Government has said there are question marks over the ‘viability’ of Slough Council as a unitary as it announced plans for it and fellow struggling authorities Thurrock and Croydon.
As well as naming former council chief executive Dave Smith as the new ‘managing director commissioner’ for Thurrock, local government minister Lee Rowley said ‘things must change’ at Slough.
Mr Rowley said: 'For Slough to remain in its current form there needs to be a fundamental shift in the attitude and behaviour of the council and its leadership.
‘The role of commissioners will be of paramount importance and their focus in the coming months will be on a new operating model for the authority.’
In a written statement to MPs, the minister revealed expanded intervention for Thurrock and said Dr Smith, a former chief of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and Sunderland City Council, would be responsible for ‘day-to-day operations’ at the council.
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