Nottingham City Council commissioners pinpoint what decisions they will review

Nottingham City Council's commissioners will have to review all decisions involving "significant levels of spend or changes to policy." A three-day turnaround for the commissioners to provide their comments has been agreed to prevent a delay to city council decisions.

The Government appointed three commissioners to Nottingham City Council on February 22 after the authority effectively declared bankruptcy last year. The council has now set out more detail about how the £1,000 a day commissioners will be operating.

Papers being presented at a meeting on Thursday (April 18) say: "Following their appointment, the commissioners require decisions involving significant levels of spend or changes to policy to be considered by them to enable them to influence or exercise their powers in relation to the decisions being taken as they see fit." Key decisions by the council leader, portfolio holder decisions and reports to a full meeting of the council are among the items that will be shared with commissioners "as a matter of course."

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It has also been agreed that decisions and reports will be shared with commissioners after they have been signed off by a corporate director, but before they have been authorised by councillors. This operation is set to be reviewed in two months.

Initially in place for two years, the commissioners appointed are Tony McArdle as lead commissioner and Margaret Lee as commissioner for finance. A third and final commissioner for transformation is yet to be appointed.

Speaking previously about his appointment, Mr McArdle said: "The [effective bankruptcy notice] is in place and the council finds itself having to find a lot of money, make a lot more money available, in a very short space of time. What we're hoping to do is to work with the council to help that happen."