A senior councillor has questioned the role of Government appointed commissioners after the search for a new Liverpool Council director was extended.
The local authority confirmed this week that it was continuing its search for a permanent strategic director of neighbourhoods and the current interim post holder would remain in place for at least another two months. It had been expected that a full-time occupant of the role would be announced imminently.
The need for a new strategic director came after Liverpool Council sought to bolster its senior management team and deliver improvements following the damning Caller Report last year. The inspection, carried out by Max Caller OBE, identified a litany of failings at Liverpool Council that led to the appointment of government approved commissioners.
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Cllr Richard Kemp, leader of the opposition Liberal Democrat group, questioned the role of the commissioners in the appointment process. He said: “The question I have to ask is, how much of what the council does is what it believes to be the right thing and how much is on the advice of the commissioners?
“Are we acting in fear of what the commissioners might say? In that case they became like a quasi-shadow decision maker.”
Acting director Claire McColgan will remain in post for the next two months as the recruitment process remains ongoing at the Cunard Building. Culture Liverpool boss Ms McColgan has overseen the neighbourhoods portfolio on a caretaker basis since January on a six month posting, leading key services like the city’s leisure centres, libraries and environmental services.
She has balanced this since the turn of the year with her ongoing oversight and management of Culture Liverpool. The job share operation was brought about by Mr Caller’s report in 2021.
Cllr Kemp said an appointment needed to be made soon to deal with the key issues that concern households across the city. He said: "If you think about the complaints that come in, it’s bins, lights and the day-to-day stuff that residents are concerned about. These are the things that keep people happy with the council.
“It’s what hits them when they come out of the front door. We have to work out a better relationship with the commissioners and not look over our shoulder.”
Delivering safe and thriving neighbourhoods is one of six parts of the wider Liverpool city plan as set out in October 2020. The multi-agency project seeks to ensure all residents in the city “live in safe, inclusive and welcoming neighbourhoods, where people choose and aspire to live, raise their families and grow old.”
