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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/mar/27/commissioners-to-take-direct-financial-control-of-northants-council-northamptonshire-county
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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Commissioners to take direct financial control of Northants council | Commissioners to take direct financial control of Northants council |
| (2 months later) | |
| The Tory-run council which declared itself effectively bankrupt last month will have commissioners sent in to take direct control of its financial management and governance, Sajid Javid, the local government secretary, has told MPs. | The Tory-run council which declared itself effectively bankrupt last month will have commissioners sent in to take direct control of its financial management and governance, Sajid Javid, the local government secretary, has told MPs. |
| An independent report this month found that Northamptonshire county council had “failed to comply with its duty” to deliver services and should be scrapped. | An independent report this month found that Northamptonshire county council had “failed to comply with its duty” to deliver services and should be scrapped. |
| Javid said on Tuesday that he agreed with the “extremely serious” conclusions of the report but would give inspectors the powers to act as they saw fit to get the cash-strapped council back on track. | Javid said on Tuesday that he agreed with the “extremely serious” conclusions of the report but would give inspectors the powers to act as they saw fit to get the cash-strapped council back on track. |
| “I am proposing decisive action to ensure that local people receive the high quality services they need and deserve,” he told the MPs. | “I am proposing decisive action to ensure that local people receive the high quality services they need and deserve,” he told the MPs. |
| 'Bankrupt' Tory council had paid acting boss more than £1,000 a day | |
| The council was forced to impose emergency spending controls after admitting that “severe financial challenges” meant it was unable to meet its obligations in the current financial year. | The council was forced to impose emergency spending controls after admitting that “severe financial challenges” meant it was unable to meet its obligations in the current financial year. |
| It issued a section 114 notice, the first council to do so in two decades. This imposed financial controls and banned expenditure on all services except those with statutory safeguarding obligations. | It issued a section 114 notice, the first council to do so in two decades. This imposed financial controls and banned expenditure on all services except those with statutory safeguarding obligations. |
| The National Audit Office has suggested that up to 15 other local councils could follow suit in the next three years as they struggle to cope with increasing demand for social care at the same time as coping with a 50% cut in central government funding over the last eight years. | The National Audit Office has suggested that up to 15 other local councils could follow suit in the next three years as they struggle to cope with increasing demand for social care at the same time as coping with a 50% cut in central government funding over the last eight years. |
| Max Caller, who led the government investigation, said the council’s problems were so deep and ingrained it would be impossible for it to return to “stability and safety” in a reasonable timescale on its own. | Max Caller, who led the government investigation, said the council’s problems were so deep and ingrained it would be impossible for it to return to “stability and safety” in a reasonable timescale on its own. |
| Tory councillors are tied to the idea that the market knows best | David Walker | |
| “A way forward with a clean sheet, leaving all the history behind, is required,” he said. | “A way forward with a clean sheet, leaving all the history behind, is required,” he said. |
| Andrew Gwynne, the shadow local government secretary, said the report made “very sorry reading” and was an indictment of local mismanagement as well as the government’s austerity policy. | Andrew Gwynne, the shadow local government secretary, said the report made “very sorry reading” and was an indictment of local mismanagement as well as the government’s austerity policy. |
| “This is what happens when a government has created a £5.8bn gap in local government funding,” he said. “Local government cannot be allowed to collapse on this government’s watch.” | “This is what happens when a government has created a £5.8bn gap in local government funding,” he said. “Local government cannot be allowed to collapse on this government’s watch.” |
| Javid responded that Gwynne had “conveniently ignored” the history of local government interventions in Labour-run councils. | Javid responded that Gwynne had “conveniently ignored” the history of local government interventions in Labour-run councils. |
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| Sajid Javid | Sajid Javid |
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