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

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what criteria are used to determine when central government intervention in a local authority is warranted in relation to standards or governance failures.

The Secretary of State must be satisfied that a local authority is failing to carry out its functions in compliance with the Best Value Duty before intervening on a statutory basis under section 15 of the Local Government Act 1999.

The Secretary of State’s decision to intervene, when, and what form that intervention takes relies on the analysis of a complex set of data and circumstances. This assessment is based on the standards set out in statutory guidance for the local government sector on how to fulfil the Best Value Duty.