Mayor’s work may be overseen by ministerial envoys

The government is considering appointing ministerial envoys to make sure Tower Hamlets council meets “serious concerns” about its governance and culture.

A government report published on Tuesday said there was a culture where decisions were taken based on advice from a small number of people who were trusted by the directly-elected mayor, Lutfur Rahman.

The envoys will mentor, monitor and oversee the council’s improvement work but a final decision has not yet been made on whether they will be appointed.

Tower Hamlets council said it looked forward to working with the envoys and thanked the government “for recognising the progress we have made as an authority”.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s minister Jim McMahon said he would consider any representations from the council and other interested parties before deciding.

Tower Hamlets council is run by Rahman, a member of the Aspire political party.

He has had a controversial career in local politics: he was elected to the council in 2002 as a Labour candidate and was the first directly-elected mayor of Tower Hamlets from October 2010 until April 2015.

He was removed from the mayoralty and suspended from public office by an election court that found there had been “corrupt and illegal practices” under his watch.

The court also found grants had been allocated inappropriately to some organisations, canvassers on his behalf had been paid and he had brought “undue spiritual influence” to bear on the Muslim voters who backed him.

But Rahman made a comeback after his five-year suspension with a new party he set up – Aspire.

In 2022 he defeated the sitting mayor, Labour’s John Biggs, with 55% of the vote and became the third elected mayor of Tower Hamlets.

The report found the council’s scrutiny culture to be “weak and confused” and said there was a perception among many staff that many good managers had left the organisation as a result of “speaking truth to power”.

It also found a lack of trust had contributed to officer churn at the top few levels of the council, where due process was often treated as an obstacle to priorities rather than as a necessary check and balance.

It said “suspicious and defensive” behaviour had created a “toxic” atmosphere.

The inspectors said while the council had made “targeted and concerted” improvements over the last two years, this had lacked a strategic focus on continuous improvement.

The report said: “The culture set and exemplified by the leadership is to reactively respond and counter criticism rather than honestly appraise and self-improve.

“On some issues, the inspectors are sceptical of the council’s capability to self-improve.”

Tower Hamlets council has said it is “committed to working with the government on our continuous journey of improvement”.

“We welcome the government’s decision to appoint an envoy rather than send in commissioners, with a plan to work together with us on a support package, with the council retaining all its powers,” it said.

“We look forward to working with the ministerial envoy.”

MHCLG said a ministerial envoy would attend meetings, provide ad hoc advice and challenge and ensure the realisation of comprehensive programmes of cultural change and political mentoring.

McMahon said he was proposing to direct the council to cooperate with them and allow them all reasonable access to their premises, documents, employees or members in support of their work.

The previous government had appointed inspectors to scrutinise the management of the east London borough, after the Local Government Association (LGA) reported there was a lack of trust between the mayor’s office and senior officers.

The LGA also expressed concern about the “large number of agency and interim staff”, with vacancies in key positions.