‘We know that some councils are falling short,' read the job advert from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC).

Giving examples of local authorities ‘taking excessive risks without appropriate safeguards or governance and pursuing short-term financial approaches that can lead to long-term problems,' the department explained this meant it needed a new army of ‘experts working on the ground to identify failure' and turn these councils around ‘for good'.