Government orders rapid review into district council

The government has ordered a rapid review into Ashfield District Council after concerns were raised about its leadership and governance.

In a letter to Labour MP Michelle Welsh, local government minister Jim McMahon confirmed he had ordered a "rapid best value assessment" to be carried out into the Nottinghamshire authority, which is run by Ashfield Independents.

It follows the conviction of the former council leader Jason Zadrozny, for fraud and tax evasion in September.

In his letter to Welsh, which she shared on social media on Saturday, McMahon said he had also asked senior government officials to seek an urgent meeting with the chief executive of the council.

The BBC has contacted Ashfield District Council for comment.

Zadrozny was accused of setting up a fake heritage group to defraud Nottinghamshire County Council out of thousands of pounds.

Prosecutors also alleged he failed to pay tax on four rental properties.

The 46-year-old was found guilty of nine counts of fraud and four counts of tax evasion, and is due to be sentenced on 27 November.

Zadrozny resigned as leader of the district council the day after his conviction, but remained a councillor and was given a seat on the authority's planning committee.

Some said they were unhappy with this and a number of Ashfield Independents councillors quit the party and formed a new opposition group, the District Alliance.

Welsh, who represents Sherwood Forest, had raised concerns about the way the council was being run and previously called for government intervention.

Ashfield's Reform UK MP Lee Anderson also raised the matter during Wednesday's Prime Minister's Questions and was told by Andy Burnham the government was monitoring the situation.

In his letter to Welsh, McMahon said: "The issues you raise are very concerning indeed.

"I am committed to ensuring that local authorities achieve the very highest standards of leadership, governance and financial management and so I take the matters you raise in relation to Ashfield extremely seriously, and my officials will be in touch to arrange a meeting to discuss this urgent matter further."

Speaking to the BBC, Welsh said her constituents had been "consistently let down" by the district council and called the review a "huge step forward".

She said: "The rapid review will be looking at whether those things that have been reported to them [the government] have actually happened, and then they will be deciding what those next steps should be.

"It's a very complicated issue, there are lots of things that have been going on for a long long time.

"But let me be clear this is the first step and a huge step into finding out the wrongdoings that have been happening at Ashfield District Council."

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