Alex Skinner, director of local government finance at MHCLG, added that the review would consider “what assets they hold and whether it would be appropriate for the local authority to consider selling those, and if so, over what time period”.
Is that Alex Skinner who no longer is in that role who is now in DWP? Perhaps he overstepped his authority to comment on such things? I cannot see he is or was a policy maker.
If such comments had come from Secretary of State department I would accept it rather than people who are trying to win points.