Rotherham Council could get back some of its powers

The leader of Rotherham Council and his cabinet could be getting some of their powers back.
Riverside House, headquarter of Rotherham CouncilRiverside House, headquarter of Rotherham Council
Riverside House, headquarter of Rotherham Council

Government commissioners were appointed in February to take over the running of the crisis-hit council following the damning Casey report about child grooming, which deemed the local authority not fit for purpose.

Now the Government says some of the services should go back under the control of the council, but the commissioners will remain in charge of other areas including children’s and adult’s social care and licensing.

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The proposals are likely to be agreed by the Secretary of State in January.

Lead commissioner Sir Derek Myers said: “I and my fellow commissioners are confident that Rotherham councillors are in a strong position to once again take responsibility and accountability for a number of core services, and that the organisation is fit to support them in doing so for local people.”

He added: “While the pace of improvement has been good, there is much more to do in some areas.

“At this time we don’t propose to hand back those services which we know are still in need of change and improvement, including children’s social care, but we will continue to work closely with the advisory cabinet and review this position regularly.”

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Council leader, coun Chris Read, said it was a ‘significant step towards returning local democracy to the people of Rotherham’ and that the authority was turning a corner.

Residents are being asked to give their views on the changes by emailing email [email protected] by the end of January.