When Birmingham City Council's improvement panel announced its departure last week, the timing couldn't have been worse. The team walked away, calling for more intervention at the authority, just as auditors issued a section 24 notice – a serious warning over the financial stability of the organisation.

In an unprecedented move, the Birmingham Independent Improvement Panel (BIIP) did not wait to be dismissed by the secretary of state. In a letter to communities secretary James Brokenshire, John Crabtree said: ‘We have done all that we can within our existing terms of reference and powers…