Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask Her Majesty's Government to which local authorities in England they have appointed Commissioners; for which areas of service; and for how long each Commissioner has been in place.

There are currently five Commissioners appointed under section 15 (5) and (6) of the Local Authority Act 1999 in Northamptonshire County Council and Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council.

On 10 May 2018, the Secretary of State appointed Tony McArdle (Lead Commissioner) and Brian Roberts as Commissioners to Northamptonshire County Council. Directions charge them to oversee governance and scrutiny, strategic financial management and the appointment of statutory officers. The directions will be in place until 2021.

In Rotherham, three commissioners remain in place until 23 September 2018; Mary Ney (Lead Commissioner), Julie Kenny CBE (Supporting Commissioner) and Patricia Bradwell (Children's Social Care Commissioner). Commissioners Ney and Kenny were both appointed in February 2015, and Commissioner Bradwell was appointed in 2016. As this is a joint intervention with the Department for Education, the Commissioners were all appointed under both the Local Government Act 1999 and section 497 A (4B) of the Education Act 1999.

However, on 18 September 2018 the Secretary of State announced that from 24 September 2018 control of all services will be returned to the council, including children’s social care, and the three commissioners will be withdrawn. The Council must receive an independent review before 31 March 2019. This follows the gradual return of select functions as the Council have improved and made strong progress over the last three years.