Background and updates
Secretary of State announces potential changes to intervention - 20 January 2026
Today that the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has made a Written Ministerial Statement notifying the House that he is minded to amend the structure and remit of the intervention into the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. He has invited the council and any interested parties to provide representations before 2 February.
In the intervening period the envoys will continue to operate under their existing model and remit, and we are due to submit our second report to the minster within the representations period.
The Secretary of State will take a final decision in the coming weeks. Find out more on the best value inspection.
You can contact the envoy team at envoy.support@towerhamlets.gov.uk.
On 22 January 2025 the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government announced a statutory intervention into the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and appointed Ministerial Envoys to work comprehensively within the council, acting as advisors, mentors and monitors, to oversee our improvement work.
The Government published the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Ministerial Directions.
This decision follows the Ministers consideration of the Best Value Inspection Report, published on 12 November 2024.
On 9 July 2025 the government published the Envoys first report to the Minister, the ministerial response and a written ministerial statement was made to the House.
You can read the full background to the intervention and access all government publications on the GOV.UK website.
The role of the Envoys is different to the role of Commissioners in other Government interventions and we retain all of our Executive Decision and Non-Executive Decision making Powers.
A key part of the package is our Transformation Assurance Board, chaired by Mayor Lutfur Rahman. On 14 April the Board agreed the programmes required by the Ministerial Directions:
- the Continuous Improvement Programme (CIP)
- a fully costed Political Mentoring Programme
- a fully costed Programme of Cultural Change to Rebuild Trust Between Officers and Members.
On 16 July 2025 the councils first report to the minster was taken to Full Council.