Liverpool Council has to deal with its own issues before it can improve things for people in the city, according to opposition councillors.
Former Lord Mayor Cllr Anna Rothery, said the under-fire local authority needs to focus on how it got into the situation it finds itself in after a survey identified that just 28% of city residents surveyed felt Liverpool Council provides value for money, while less than half (45%) think the council acts on their concerns.
Cllr Rothery, leader of the Liverpool Community Independents group, told a meeting of the Mayoral and Performance select committee the city was “underperforming” and had issues that required a “deep dive” but questioned whether the existing systems were capable of delivering a proper assessment.
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Jacqui McKinlay, Liverpool Council chief operating officer, told councillors that officers expected the imminent second report by Government appointed commissioners to be a "difficult read". The assessment into the performance management of the local authority outlined how far the Cunard administration still has to go in its improvement journey in the wake of the critical Caller Report last year.
Members clashed during a heated discussion on the council’s performance at the Town Hall last night. Cllr Rothery said: “We’ve got to deal with what’s going on in house before we make a dent in this city.”
She went on to claim councillors are seen as social workers in the city and added: “The expectation is we can deal with every issue and we want to be able to deal with every issue but we’re only as good as the structure we have in place.” Her deputy, Cllr Alan Gibbons, did not hold back in his assessment of where the local authority is at present, describing Liverpool Council as a “deeply dysfunctional organisation”.
Addressing the report directly, Cllr Liz Parsons said “you can make data tell whatever story you want” but questioned how often Cunard officers leave the city centre to see the impact of the work of the council. Liberal Party group member Cllr Peter Mitchell said to the outside world, Liverpool is seen as a “comedy council”.
He said: “Everyone should want to wave the commissioners goodbye at this stage. “How can we say this is what we’re doing to residents when we have the Sword of Damocles over our heads? What part are the commissioners playing?
“Improvement is just a paper exercise, that’s the public perception. What is the commissioners’ view? Right now that’s the most important point.”
Ms McKinlay said she hoped that councillors saw humility, transparency and openness as part of the authority’s improvement journey. She added that the council is keen to develop a performance culture around the organisation but acknowledges improvements have to be made.
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