The lead commissioner appointed to oversee Liverpool Council said the stewardship and spending of public money in the city is “problematic” and needs to be improved.
Speaking after the publication of a second report into the troubled local authority this morning, Mike Cunningham said the pace of change and sense of urgency to remedy the issues at the Cunard Building “have not been what we or I believe the people of Liverpool would have expected them to have been.” Mr Cunningham, who along with three other colleagues, has been in post since June last year, said the appointment of a new chief executive at Liverpool Council was a cause for optimism but a lot of work remains to be done to put things right.
As a result of the commissioners’ findings, Greg Clark MP, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government has confirmed the government intervention at the council will be significantly expanded to the point of an effective full-scale takeover. He also revealed plans for a new strategic panel to work with the council on its future plans, which will be chaired by Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram.
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Mr Cunningham said of the report, it was a reflection of the commissioners’ first year in post. He said: “While there have been some things that have happened, which we’re pleased about, such as the strategic improvement plan; the submissions to the boundary commission; the establishment of a council plan, those were the sorts of things that were required have been done, but overall the pace of the change, the sense of urgency have not been what we or I believe the people of Liverpool would have expected them to have been.”
The 26-page document, made public earlier today, confirmed the commissioners had real concerns around five issues, particularly in the council’s handling of public money. Mr Cunningham said: “If the intervention is going to work effectively within the remaining two years, then things have got to be put on a different footing in year two.
“We’re particularly concerned about financial resilience and financial management - we’re clear about that in the report - that’s not just us saying it, CIPFA have produced two reports on this. They set out a number of problems which are there to see.
“The second issue was we didn’t believe the council didn’t respond with sufficient urgency to those recommendations and we are concerned about the ongoing budget challenges.” A fifth commissioner is to join the Whitehall team to oversee the public purse at the Cunard Building, something Mr Cunningham said could bring about the step change required.
He said: “I believe fundamentally we are here to support and assist Liverpool Council to make improvements and we believe this is essential if that is to go ahead. I know different people have got different views on the intervention and that’s understandable, but we think an additional commissioner will put this on a different footing.”
The appointment of former Trafford Council boss Theresa Grant OBE was a “cause for optimism” according to Mr Cunningham, who said since the first assessment there had been “some demonstrable changes.” He added that there was now a recognition of the amount of work to do across the board to change the fortunes of the flailing local authority.
He said: “Previously there may have been a perception that all that was required was a tilt on the tiller, but I think there is now an acceptance on the part of politicians and officers that fundamental change is needed and that’s a pretty good starting point. I think there are some signs that we will be able to report on progress in December.
“We’re not expecting Liverpool Council to be fixed by then, to be fully functioning by then, nobody’s expecting that, but I have every reason to believe there will be some demonstrable progress.” The issue of contract management was a particular concern for the commissioners, something Mr Cunningham said in the report was a “whole-council challenge.”
He said: “I think it is a cause for concern but not in isolation, what it surfaces if you were to dig into it, was poor contract management, poor risk management, poor report writing, poor managerial oversight. There’s a number of issues which are evidenced in that particular example which are problematic across the piece.
“We talk about procurement a lot in the report and we feel a much more coherent approach to procurement is required because ultimately this is about how public money is spent and the stewardship of that public money is problematic in Liverpool at the moment and needs improving.” Mayor Joanne Anderson responded to the additional intervention this morning, claiming further government oversight would not solve the city’s problems.
Mr Cunningham said he respected the Mayor’s position but was confident the measures would help improve the council’s position going forward. He said: “I have many frank and open conversations with the Mayor, we just see this bit of the puzzle differently.
“There’s a complex set of issues to be resolved in Liverpool and we work very constructively with the Mayor and her cabinet. She clearly has a view on wider intervention and I absolutely respect that view, our position is that we believe the recommendations are required if Liverpool is to be put in a better place and we will go forward with whatever is decided as a result of that.”
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