City commissioner 'hopeful' of leaving on schedule
BBCA government-appointed official tasked with overseeing improvements at Nottingham City Council has said he is "hopeful" his team can leave the authority early next year.
The Labour-run council effectively declared itself bankrupt in 2023, prompting the previous government to send in commissioners to help run it in February last year.
They were initially appointed for two years, and lead commissioner Tony McArdle has now told the BBC "the direction of travel has been good."
"We're not seeking to extend our time here. This is a constitutionally quite uncomfortable thing to be doing, it's a job that shouldn't exist," he said.
"The sooner we're in a position to say this aberration can be brought to an end because this authority is back in the mainstream...the sooner we can get to that point, the better for everyone."
Asked how confident he is that his team will leave on schedule, he said there is still work to be done but "it's a much shorter list than when we first came here".
"I am hopeful at least that come the end of the year we're going to be writing to the secretary of state what we want to write, what the council wants us to write, and frankly what the citizens of this city should want, which is a fully autonomous local authority without undue government influence."
He added he has so far not needed to use the formal powers he has to overrule councillors.
He acknowledged, however, that the commissioners' presence has created tension.
"We knew that the government putting us in here was not going to go down very well, nor did it, but we've worked through that," he said.
The commissioners' latest report to central government, written in March, said the council continues to "operate beyond its means" but reforms are "bearing fruit".
Mr McArdle said the authority was becoming less dependent on Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) - a process where a council uses the sale of assets to fund day-to-day spending.
In order to set a balanced budget in the 2024-25 financial year, the council used £41m worth of EFS.
By comparison, it is expected to use up to £25m in 2025-26, followed by up to £10m in 2026-27.
Council leader Neghat Khan, who took over in May last year, said she was "confident as I can be" that EFS will not be needed after that point, and she hopes to reduce the figure for next year.
"When I came in a year ago, my job was to stabilise the council, and I think we are stable. Now the job in the second year is about sustainability," she said.
She added she was also optimistic the commissioners will leave on schedule.
"My job as leader is actually to get rid of the commissioners, and hopefully we can achieve that," she said. "At the moment, everything is going to plan."
The commissioners are due to provide their next update to government later this year, with the intervention currently due to end in February 2026.
The ultimate decision over whether or not they remain in place for longer will be made by the Secretary of State for Local Government Angela Rayner.
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