Liverpool Council ’s new interim chief executive has said the authority might need “drastic transformation” to turn its fortunes around.
Theresa Grant has vowed to “lead by example” after taking up her role at the Cunard Building four weeks ago. Ms Grant, who has been appointed for an eight month period, said the council needs “good, strong leadership” as it attempts to pull itself out of the mire.
The former Northamptonshire Council boss came into Liverpool following the resignation of former chief executive Tony Reeves amid a damning second report by government appointed commissioners overseeing the city. Mr Reeves was appointed in July 2018 having previously worked in the Cunard administration as a consultant.
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The former boss of Bradford Council had faced intense pressure following a catalogue of council mistakes that have added an extra £16 million onto the city's electricity bill. Ms Grant said her first task was to steady the ship.
She said: “I have to stabilise first, what I think is needed is some transformation, maybe quite drastic transformation. I would describe that as transformation is not doing things differently, it’s doing different things.
“I haven’t seen a record of that, so what I’d like to do is a really robust transformation programme alongside that stable plan, so that the organisation can transform. In a way I’m lucky as there’s a lot to go at and there’s a lot of transformation I can see we can do, so not least how we work together better with our partners and maximise the value of the Liverpool pound.
“We can definitely stretch that and sweat the assets better.” Ms Grant, who hails from Wexford in Ireland, said there had been “a lot of churn” that unsettled the workforce within the local authority and wanted to leave a “stable organisation” after her term in post had ended.
She said her priorities were to “set a balanced budget for next year, and to put in place a three year medium term financial plan, so that when I do leave in eight months there’s a stable plan that people can work from.” It is in May, when Ms Grant is expected to step down, that Liverpool Council will experience another major shake up, with the doing away of the Mayoralty and all out elections.
Under new management, Ms Grant said, the council could have the opportunity to flourish. She said: “I think with the right leadership, this council could be first class, it’s got all the ingredients to be that.
“It just needs some rectifying, some good, strong leadership and I believe the workforce would deliver the goods. I met with all of the staff two weeks ago and I reminded everybody, we’re paid for by the public, they’re our employers at the end of the day and we should really be doing the best for them.
“The job is here to make sure people get decent services.” The former Trafford Council boss vowed to lead the way when it came to showing how the city should perform.
She said: “I would say leadership styles are quite different, mine is quite directive, and I will lead by example. I believe in leading by example so different people have different styles of leadership and the organisation is responding well to my style of leadership.
“I need to get the pace back into the organisation, I feel it wasn’t driving at pace, but I feel like that pace has changed in the last few weeks.” In August, the commissioners appointed to oversee Liverpool Council delivered a second and damning verdict into performance at the Cunard.
Mike Cunningham and his team said the authority had not shown “sufficient pace, urgency or grip” to tackle the issues it faces. In response, Ms Grant said: "I think it could have been worse, is my immediate response to it, I was disappointed more progress hadn’t been made in the period of time they had been here, but I could understand from what I read in the report possibly why that was.
“It was useful for me to be able to read the second report as it gave me a good idea of where I needed to focus my efforts. Hopefully in the third report, you’ll see where I have focused my efforts and you’ll see that improvement.
“I’d like to see the start of a culture shift in the organisation and I think that’s something that I think occupies the commissioners as well, and indeed the elected members. Ms Grant said she’d had “quite a few conversations” with the commissioners and was developing a positive relationship with the Whitehall mandated officers.
She added: “I see them as high support but I also see them as high challenge, which is the role they should play, they’re not here to just agree with everything but they have brought me in to do what I do best which is to make things work better. I have their complete support and I’ve had really positive engagement to date, and it’s my ambition that in the next commissioners’ report they’ll see a really positive change and turnaround and that’ll give them some confidence as well.
“The better job we can do collectively will make everyone’s lives a lot easier.” There have been no conversations as yet regarding Ms Grant remaining in post past her interim stint but she said she would expect to be involved in the discussions around her long term successor.
She said: “Obviously they needed an interim, and I have to admit, it was a job I just really wanted to do. I saw it as my last job in local government and I cannot think of anywhere better, more prestigious than I could do here.”
Speaking directly to the people of Liverpool, the interim chief executive added: “I would say to them they are very lucky to have such an absolutely dedicated and passionate workforce, I haven’t seen anything like that anywhere I’ve ever worked. If you could harness the passion in this city, it could achieve anything, in my view.”
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