Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Answer of 9 December 2025 to Question 96074 on Kent County Council: Best Value, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of a Best Value intervention in relation to the current Administration of Kent County Council.

My department monitors individual councils, including Kent, through a wide range of data and direct engagement. We continually review local authority governance, financial management, and sustainability, including through examining national data metrics, local authority documents, reports from auditors and inspectorates, and letters from residents. Where we become aware of early indications of best value failure, we consider a range of ways to closely monitor an authority’s progress. We will continue to monitor risk in individual councils, and we will act where necessary to ensure that councils meet their best value duty and are transparent and accountable to their residents.