Ministerial envoys assigned to Tower Hamlets Council following controversial Best Value Inspection 

Central government has decided to monitor Mayor Lutfur Rahman’s administration of Tower Hamlets Council for a second time amid concerns over transparency, leadership and patronage.

Tower Hamlets Council will be subject to a considerable increase in scrutiny for the next three years, following the results of a Best Value Inspection (BVI) released today by the central government. 

The inspection was carried out after the Local Government Association (LGA) raised concerns in 2023 about how Mayor Lutfur Rahman was running the council.

BVIs are designed to ensure that a Council is fit for purpose and consider a set of ‘value themes’ essential for continual improvement, including culture, leadership, governance, and community leadership. 

Based on their findings, which The Slice has since published an in-depth analysis of, LGA has assigned a ministerial envoy and assistant envoy to work with the council on the improvement work. The envoys are part of a statutory intervention package that involves a restructured council advisory board with independent leads for governance, leadership, and culture, and will be in place for three years.

The envoy and their assistant will report to the central government’s Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government. 

It’s not the first time inspectors have been sent to monitor Mayor Lutfur Rahman. Rahman was first elected Mayor of Tower Hamlets 14 years ago in 2010. During this first term as Mayor, the government also thought it necessary to intervene in his leadership and a different BVI was carried out during this term. The report criticised a ‘culture of cronyism’ but found no fraud. 

Rahman was re-elected in 2014 but the results of the 2014 election were declared null and void when the government’s election commission found Rahman guilty of electoral fraud. Rahman was removed from office in 2015 and banned from running again until the most recent election in 2022 when Rahman was re-elected with his radical austerity-busting budget. 

Unlike the 2014 inspection when the then Secretary of State Eric Pickles sent commissioners to take control of the Council’s decision-making, the government is sending an envoy who will observe decision-making and Mayor Lutfur Rahman will retain full control of the Council.

The 2024 BVI was prompted by the LGA under the previous Conservative government and carried out between February 2024 and May 2024. 

In a report, the LGA wrote: ‘There is a lack of trust between the mayor’s office and senior officers, with examples of inappropriate questioning and pressure to feed things into the mayor’s office for ‘sign off.’’ 

The 2024 BVI report was released today and states that ‘while the Council has a number of strengths it can be proud of, we have found a significant accumulation of best value concerns across a number of areas.’ The report raised several concerns, including about leadership, transparency and a ‘culture of patronage.’

In a press release, the council said: ‘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.’ 

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