Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
(): On 19 August 2022 my Rt Hon.
Friend, the then Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities () announced he was minded to
expand the intervention into Liverpool City Council by appointing
a Commissioner to oversee the Council’s financial management and
to transfer functions associated with governance and financial
decision-making to the Commissioners together with powers
regarding recruitment to improve the running of the organisation.
Today I am confirming that I will be implementing these
proposals.
The intervention at Liverpool City Council started on 10 June
2021 following a best value inspection trigged by the arrest of
the former Mayor. The then Secretary of State appointed four
Commissioners with powers over regeneration, highways and
property and their associated governance.
The Commissioners submitted their second report on 10 June 2022,
the anniversary of the intervention, leading to the minded to
announcement in August. I am pleased that progress has been made
and commend the hard work of the councillors and officers to
achieve this. Commissioners also report that the arrival of
Theresa Grant OBE as interim chief executive in September has
bought renewed drive to the transformation work across the
Council.
The intervention is at a critical juncture as it approaches the
halfway point and it is clear significant challenges remain. The
Commissioners’ second report identified systematic, whole-council
weaknesses in areas that stretch beyond the existing
intervention. It concluded the Council is not meeting its
statutory duty to provide Best Value and the Council must take
urgent, whole-council action to progress on their improvement
journey.
My predecessor invited representations on the proposals on or
before 2 September 2022. Having considered the representations
received from the Authority, Councillor Richard Kemp and the
evidence in the Commissioners report, I have decided to implement
the proposals. I have made one small modification to remove an
errant timeframe attached to a direction.
I am appointing Stephen Hughes as Finance Commissioner, until
June 2024 or such earlier or later time as I determine. Stephen
is a seasoned finance officer who has recently worked as a
finance and management consultant and previously worked as
interim chief executive at Bristol.
More must be done to embed the desired cultural change across the
organisation, to bridge the budget gap and set a balanced budget
for 2023/24. My decision, to expand the intervention, reflects
the stark situation in the Council. The powers provided to
Commissioners are wide –ranging, but I feel are necessary to
deliver the effective, efficient and convenient local government
for communities across Liverpool.
The Commissioners have agreed to provide their next report to me
in February 2023 and I will update the House on further progress
with the intervention at that time. I have published the
Directions and Explanatory Memorandum associated with this
announcement on gov.uk and placed copies, together with the
Commissioner’s second report, in the libraries of both Houses.
My predecessor also announced the Liverpool Strategic Futures
Panel to craft a vision for Liverpool’s future beyond government
intervention, with a plan for driving growth in skills, jobs and
opportunities. Liverpool has fantastic potential, and I am
considering carefully how we can work together with partners to
best support levelling up in the area. I will update separately
on these plans in due course.
