Government intervenes in Doncaster

Communities secretary John Denham has stepped in to take control of Doncaster Council after an Audit Commission report found it was not capable of making improvements.

The report was carried out after a series of crises at the council, including a brutal attack on two young boys in Edlington.

Its social services department had already been criticised following the deaths of seven children.

The report said the local authority was failing because it was not properly run.

Denham has appointed Rob Whiteman, the new chief executive of the local government improvement organisation IDEA, to chair an emergency advisory board to provide, if urgent decisions are needed, leadership and support to the acting chief executive.