Government warns council to improve quicker

CHESHIRE East has been given a warning from the government that it needs to improve at a quicker pace amid concerns about its financial sustainability and governance.

- BY BELINDA RYAN Local Democracy Reporter

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) this week issued the council with a best value notice.

It is a formal notification that the MHCLG has concerns regarding the council and requests that it engages with the department to provide assurance of improvement.

The department expects councils that have been issued with a best value notice to continue leading their own improvement.

The notice has been posted on the government's website and states it has been issued following:

• Significant concerns about the council's financial sustainability and medium-term financial strategy

• Concerns around leadership capacity, governance, scrutiny and culture identified by the corporate peer challenge and Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) reports.