Inspectors found bullying, misogyny and a council reliant on £25m of emergency support. Ministers propose commissioners for three years; comment by 28 October.
Government inspectors have found that Bedford Borough Council is failing in its legal duty to run itself properly. Ministers now propose to send in commissioners with powers over its finances, senior appointments and decision-making for three years.
The Best Value Inspection report was published on GOV.UK on Thursday 15 October. The inspectors finished it in June 2026.
They found the council “in a difficult and deteriorating position overall”. Its problems are worst in four areas: leadership, governance, culture and use of resources. They concluded the council cannot fix itself and “needs external support and intervention”.
What the inspectors found
The report’s main findings are:
- Bullying and misogyny. The team “heard evidence from a number of people about a bullying and misogynistic culture within the ruling cabinet and across political groups”. It also heard of the same behaviour between councillors and officers, and sometimes among officers.
- Nobody felt able to complain. People did not feel able to report these issues, so they were never “systematically investigated and addressed”. There were no complaints against councillors from officers on record.
- Combative politics. The last three years have been “characterised by an inward looking, attritional and combative political culture rather than a leadership culture focused on the residents”.
- The Mayor. The inspectors wrote that Mayor Tom Wootton “has tended to avoid difficult decisions and conflict and lacks the leadership skills to create a positive leadership environment”.
- Officers. Senior officer capacity is limited, there is “a blame culture” and “a reluctance to take responsibility for problems”. The corporate centre is described as “hollowed out”.
- Stalled decisions. Proposals on garden waste charges, car parking charges, the council tax support scheme and closing leisure provision were all held up or reopened.
- Governance. Formal and informal decision-making “is not fit for purpose”.
The inspectors also noted strengths. These include partnership working, the council’s “constructive role” in supporting the Universal theme park project, and the “palpable” pride staff and councillors feel in the borough.
The money
The inspectors say weak leadership left the council unable to “confront its growing financial problems”.
The council has needed Exceptional Financial Support from the government to balance its books. That is permission to use borrowing or asset sales to cover day-to-day spending. Ministers agreed up to £20 million for 2025/26 and £25 million for 2026/27. A possible further £33 million relates to capital work on a new railway station that “may need to be written out of the balance sheet”. The inspectors recommend reviewing capital commitments “in light of the proposals regarding the development and funding of Wixams train station”.
The report quotes the council’s February 2026 budget, which forecast these deficits in later years:
| Year | Forecast gap |
|---|---|
| 2027/28 | £27.6 million |
| 2028/29 | £25.7 million |
| 2029/30 | £32.4 million |
The council’s general reserve was expected to be £12.7 million at March 2026, with £8.4 million in other usable reserves. The inspectors call that “clearly insufficient”. Borrowing is expected to peak at £227 million by March 2028.
The 2026/27 budget also includes a £4.2 million cut in posts, about 120 full-time jobs. The inspectors say that plan, a review of home working and a partial vacancy freeze have not been “clearly explained, engaged upon or fully implemented”.
The council’s latest monitoring report, covering the three months to June, already forecast a £3.6 million overspend this year on top of the £25 million of support.
What the government proposes
The government’s letter to the chief executive, Laura Church, says the Secretary of State “is satisfied that your Authority is failing to comply with its Best Value Duty”. It names five areas: continuous improvement, leadership, governance, culture and use of resources.
Under the proposed directions, commissioners could take over:
- governance, scrutiny and transparency of strategic decisions, including changes to the constitution
- the council’s financial management, with power to propose changes to budgets
- the transformation programme, including restructures and service redesign
- hiring and dismissing the chief executive, statutory officers and the top three tiers of managers
A separate Political Commissioner would be appointed too. That commissioner would have no powers over council functions, but the council would be directed to work with them.
The council would also have to write an Improvement and Recovery Plan and report on it every six months. The directions would last three years. The letter says ministers could ease them if the council improves faster than expected, or go further if it does not.
The minister for local government, Jim McMahon, announced the plan in a written statement to Parliament, as the government’s inspection page records. The council and “other interested parties” can make representations on the report and the proposals until Wednesday 28 October. The letter gives the address as interventions@communities.gov.uk.
What the council says
In a statement, the council said it “recognises the need to accelerate its transformation and improvement journey”. It will make representations within 10 working days.
Laura Church said: “We acknowledge the significance of the report and the need to increase the pace and scale of change.” She said staff had “continued to deliver vital services during a demanding period”.
Mayor Tom Wootton said in his own statement that he takes the findings “extremely seriously”. He said the council already faced “significant financial challenges” when he became Mayor in May 2023. Since then, he said, it has “commissioned independent scrutiny, strengthened spending controls and developed a comprehensive Improvement Plan”. He added: “There is still much more to do, and I recognise that.”
How we got here
Ministers ordered the inspection in February 2026. Paul Najsarek led it, with Margaret Lee and Tasnim Shawkat as assistant inspectors.
It followed a string of earlier reviews:
- a Local Government Association corporate peer challenge in 2023
- a CIPFA review of financial resilience and governance in July 2025, which found problems needing “urgent action”
- Ofsted’s 2025 inspection of children’s services and the Care Quality Commission’s 2026 assessment of adult services, both rated “requires improvement”
- the external auditor’s 2024/25 report, which found two significant weaknesses on value for money
The inspectors say the council took advice from these reviews but “has not systematically managed or implemented” what they recommended.
What it means for you
The Mayor and councillors stay in place. The government’s letter says the council “should continue to lead and deliver its own improvement wherever possible”, with commissioners providing “oversight, challenge and support”.
The biggest change is who has the final say on money. Commissioners could propose changes to budgets, and part of their brief is closing the gaps above. That means the savings in next year’s budget, and so your council tax and the services it pays for, will be set under their oversight. Garden waste charging, car parking charges and leisure provision are among the decisions the inspectors said had stalled.
Anyone can comment on the report or the proposed directions by emailing interventions@communities.gov.uk before the end of Wednesday 28 October. Ministers will then decide whether to make the directions, and in what form.
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