The Mayor of Liverpool has said "more uncomfortable failings" will be uncovered at the troubled city council as it tries to "get its house in order".
The council has been rocked again in recent weeks after a number of failings over contracts came to light. The most prominent of these was a series of disasters around the renewal of an electricity contract that could cost the city an extra £16 million. That matter is being investigated by independent accountants who are expected to report back imminently.
And just last week, a cabinet report revealed further problems with contracts that could see the council lose out again financially. A total of 12 contracts are in need of immediate renewal that have either run out or are in danger of doing so. The commissioners who were installed at the council a year ago - after the damning revelations of the Max Caller government inspection - described the latest failings as a "low point" for the council.
READ MORE: Troubled Liverpool Council hurtling towards dark summer storm
A report from those same commissioners is expected to be made public in the coming weeks. It is strongly predicted that a year into their time at the city council, they will recommend further government action. A leaked memo - seen by the ECHO - suggests that they believe the council has gone "backwards and not forwards" in some areas since the intervention began.
Mayor Anderson, who has also been in position for a year, was a surprise candidate to step forward and replace the former mayor Joe Anderson, who stepped down after being arrested in December 2020. He has not been charged and denies wrongdoing.
Responding to the council's recent problems, Mayor Anderson said the authority is trying to weed out problems and expects further issues to come to light in the process. She said: "The road to recovery will be hard, as it is inevitable that more bad things will emerge through the process." These were the words of Max Caller in his damning report into Liverpool City Council, published in March last year.
"His watershed investigation prompted me to stand to become Mayor of Liverpool. My background if working with community organisations and local businesses meant I had a clear understanding of how important it is that our council delivers excellent services. Over the last few weeks, we have seen his prediction become reality, in relation to the procurement of council contracts.
"Make no mistake: we are absolutely determined to get our house in order – and the reason all of this is now coming to light is precisely because we are shining a spotlight on the issue. It is inevitable that uncomfortable failings will be identified as we go through the process of starting to put things right. Our administration are driving improvements and that also means being transparent about failures."
The city leader said she wants to reassure people that her administration have and are continuing to learn lessons, so mistakes are avoided in the future. She added: "Our procurement process, which is how we buy services that we need, are vital to us achieving the wider impacts needed to improve standards of living, opportunities and community wellbeing.
"I want to make sure we have a procurement strategy which promoted a triple lock decision making framework. It ensures we take into account social value, environmental impact and equality, diversity and inclusion. We have achieved £12 million of social value since it was introduced.
"We have already begun the work of remedying the issues with contract management, have ordered an urgent review of contracts and there have been recent senior level appointments with experienced officers coming to work with us in the past week. There will be no disruption to services such as adult and social care services while the contracts are renewed, or new providers found. The Cabinet and I are determined to turn this organisation around and deliver best value and social value for our residents."
Pointing to plans to install new underground bins, implementing a new Landlord Licensing scheme and develop a more 'sustainable highways network that is better for pedestrians and cyclists', she added: "As Max Caller said, the road to recovery is hard. We are still in the early phase of our improvement journey, and I would like to thank residents for their patience as we put in place solid foundations for the future."
Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what's on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here
