Commissioners overseeing Liverpool Council are said to believe the local authority is on a “more stable footing” but it remains in a position of “significant challenge”.
In December, government appointed officers monitoring the performance of the city council delivered an update at the halfway stage of their three year intervention. Speaking to the ECHO, Mike Cunningham and his team said that after months of hard work on all sides, a glimmer of hope about the future of the city council was beginning to shine through.
Amid a £73m financial blackhole to fill which could lead to service and job cuts, lead commissioner Cunningham said for the first time, the team were “optimistic” about the city’s direction of travel. Amid the appointment of the commissioners following the Best Value inspection conducted by Max Caller in 2021, Liverpool Council developed a strategic improvement plan to deliver the best possible services and improved outcomes for the people of the city.
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An update on progress was delivered to a meeting of the city’s audit committee by Lisa Smith, Assistant Director Improvement, Policy and Performance. She told councillors there had been a “marked jump in the pace, performance and delivery” of the plan and the council is proud of the step change that has occurred in a relatively short period of time.
The report said while the council’s approach had “considerably improved,” its overall position is still one of “significant challenge.” Ms Smith said, as the commissioners did last month, there was a feeling of “cautious optimism” around the Cunard Building but an acknowledgement there is “still a lot to do” to fully improve.
Despite a "sometimes turbulent and difficult time" it was felt by the commissioners that the council was on a “more stable footing,” Ms Smith added. Her optimism was met with a mixed reception from committee members.
Casting himself as “doubting Thomas” Cllr Alan Gibbons said said he would "take some convincing that we've made a step change." He said it would take a period of time to pass before "nothing came up to bite us" for him to be assured.
Ian Duncan, interim finance officer, said the improvements made "need to become business as usual." He said there is a lot of work going on behind the scenes and it is "not for lack of effort, but the sheer scale" of improvement needed.
Cllr Peter Mitchell, one of the fiercest critics in the last year, offered some warm words to Ms Smith’s report. He said: "For the first time in a few years it feels like we've got a hold of things."
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