The panel set up to guide Liverpool out of government intervention and onto a long-term future path will meet for the first time next week.
In August Greg Clark MP, the then Levelling Up Secretary, confirmed alongside further expansion of government oversight of the city council, a new panel would be set up to lead it out of the intervention. The panel is to be chaired by Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of Liverpool City Region, a former city councillor and Lord Mayor.
Mr Rotheram confirmed to a meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority this afternoon how the panel will convene for the first time at Mann Island on Monday. It had been expected that the group would meet in February after a statement from Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson said she had anticipated meeting fellow members at that time.
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Addressing the combined authority meeting, Mr Rotheram said the panel represented a “truly exciting opportunity to shape the strategic direction of the whole city.” The Metro Mayor has been vocal in his frustration at the time it had taken to get the group up and running given it was first announced seven months ago.
He told combined authority members he remained frustrated at the lack of progress and the “revolving door” of Prime Ministers and Secretaries of State. When it was first announced last summer, the Liverpool Strategic Futures Advisory Panel was set up to work closely with the Mayor and her cabinet, and also with the commissioners on long-term strategy and decisions over the future of the city, beyond the current intervention.
The panel will have a particular focus on driving growth in skills, jobs and opportunities for the city. Liverpool is also moving away from the mayoralty to a leader and cabinet model following May’s all out elections.
When the panel was announced last summer, Sir Howard Bernstein, former chief executive of Manchester Council, and Baroness Judith Blake, former leader of Leeds Council, were named as two who would join Mr Rotheram. They were both namechecked by the Metro Mayor this afternoon but no further identities were confirmed as to who might join the body.
Mr Rotheram also underlined the importance of the city making progress through the establishment of the panel and how it can have benefits for the wider community. He said: “A strong Liverpool is crucial to a strong Liverpool City Region.”
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