Ministers order review into Nottingham City Council

The government has ordered a non-statutory review into Nottingham City Council, following a report into Robin Hood Energy.

Housing secretary Robert Jenrick said the review will look into the serious governance and risk management issues associated with the council-owned company.

The council has agreed to this short, informal review to identify the issues it is facing and make recommendations for action that should be taken.

The decision to carry out the review was taken following a number of issues raised in a report published in August by Grant Thornton.

The report highlighted the serious failure of the governance at the council since Robin Hood Energy was set up in 2015, including lack of effective risk management, plus failure to take on advice or pass on accurate and timely information.

In September, Nottingham City Council announced that all the customers of its troubled energy company were to be transferred to British Gas.

The rapid review does not rule out a more formal, statutory intervention from the government in the future – a decision on which will be informed by this work.

‘I have been monitoring the very serious situation at Nottingham City Council closely, including the collapse of their Robin Hood Energy scheme,’ said Mr Jenrick.

‘A review such as this is not undertaken lightly – councils have a duty to manage taxpayers’ money responsibly and should be held to account where they are found to have failed to do so.

‘It is important we work together to turn the council around at this challenging time as they continue to support their community through the pandemic.’

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