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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
David Humphreys

Liverpool Council 'pushed back' on appointment of finance commissioner

The appointment of a government official to oversee Liverpool Council ’s finances was something that “wasn’t needed”, according to a cabinet member.

It was confirmed last week that Stephen Hughes, former chief executive of Birmingham City Council would join the four existing Whitehall appointed commissioners in place at the Cunard Building. Mr Hughes will have a directive to monitor the council’s finances after the recruitment of a specialist commissioner was recommended in a second report issued by the government mandated officers in August.

The commissioners, led by Mike Cunningham, have been handed new powers over governance, recruitment and financial decision-making. However, Assistant Mayor Cllr Frazer Lake, told a meeting of Liverpool Council’s mayoral and performance committee that Mr Hughes’ appointment was something the authority had “pushed back on” and said a specific finance commissioner was “not needed.”

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Following the publishing of the second report in August, Mayor Joanne Anderson criticised the recommendation of further Westminster-mandated roles. She said the priority should have been to recruit a “talented director” rather than an additional government officer.

The former Princes Park councillor, who acknowledged Mr Hughes’ “helpful” local government experience in welcoming him to his role last week, said three months ago that the problems faced by the local authority “are well known, clearly understood and should be left to our staff to manage.” In September, lead commissioner Mr Cunningham told the ECHO the role of the officials “principally has been to support and challenge where necessary” and he envisaged the same happening across a finance brief.

It is expected that for performing his new role, Mr Hughes will receive £1,100 a day - paid for by city ratepayers. According to a letter from Maxwell Soule, deputy director at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to Theresa Grant, Liverpool Council’s interim chief executive, Mr Hughes will work just three days a week.

The letter to Ms Grant, made public by the Government, said Secretary of State Michael Gove, was “mindful of the need for commissioner remuneration to represent value for money for local taxpayers.” It added that the instructions given to the council by Whitehal require the commissioners to be paid “reasonable expenses and such fees as the Secretary of State determines to be paid to them.”

With this in mind, the nature and scale of the intervention were the determining the day rates set for Mr Hughes’ work. Ms Grant told committee members on Tuesday that the commissioners were "happy and content" to not exercise their powers over the impending budget having viewed the proposals that will make up next year's financial plans.

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