LGA Peer Review calls for “a more productive relationship with the media” and for exemplary behaviour by councillors on Liverpool City Council

LGA Peer Review calls for “a more productive relationship with the media” and for exemplary behaviour by councillors on Liverpool City Council

LGA Peer Review calls for “a more productive relationship with the media” and for exemplary behaviour by councillors on Liverpool City Council

                             

Right: Mayor Joe Anderson (Elected Mayor of Liverpool City Council) Left: Former Chief Executive of Liverpool City Council Ged Fitzgerald 21st April 2017
Right: Mayor Joe Anderson (Elected Mayor of Liverpool City Council) Left: Former Chief Executive of Liverpool City Council Ged Fitzgerald 21st April 2017

This evening councillors on Liverpool City Council’s Audit and Governance Select Committee at a public meeting will discuss a recent Local Government Association Peer Review of Liverpool City Council.

The report contains this about Liverpool City Council’s relationship with the media and the behaviour of its councillors,
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What were the reasons behind the 24 hour RMT strike over guards on the Merseyrail network?

What were the reasons behind the 24 hour RMT strike over guards on the Merseyrail network?

What were the reasons behind the 24 hour RMT strike over guards on the Merseyrail network?

                                           

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RMT strike (Merseyrail and Northern Rail) 3rd March 2018 outside Liverpool Lime Street

RMT strike 3rd March 2018 Merseyrail Northern Rail strike Liverpool Lime Street
RMT strike 3rd March 2018 Merseyrail Northern Rail strike Liverpool Lime Street

Saturday (3rd March 2018) saw another one day strike by RMT on both the Merseyrail and Northern Rail train networks, both strikes are over the issue of guards and public safety.

Pictured above was the protest outside Liverpool Lime Street train station, Liverpool on a cold and snowy morning.

Out talking to the public yesterday in both Liverpool and Southport, I was told by a number of people who instead of taking the Merseyrail train journeys they would normally, they were instead taking buses.
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How did Liverpool City Council respond to the fire on the 31st December 2017 at the Liverpool Waterfront Car Park?

How did Liverpool City Council respond to the fire on the 31st December 2017 at the Liverpool Waterfront Car Park?

How did Liverpool City Council respond to the fire on the 31st December 2017 at the Liverpool Waterfront Car Park?

                                       

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Liverpool City Council 24th January 2018 item 7 Mayor of Liverpool Announcements and Updates


Mayor Joe Anderson | 24th January 2018 | Mayor of Liverpool Announcements | Public meeting of Liverpool City Council
Mayor Joe Anderson | 24th January 2018 | Mayor of Liverpool Announcements | Public meeting of Liverpool City Council

At a meeting of Liverpool City Council last Wednesday evening, in item 7 Mayor of Liverpool Announcements and Updates Mayor Anderson (on his 60th birthday) after an update about the suspended Chief Executive Ged Fitzgerald, gave a brief update on what had happened following the fire at a Liverpool City Council run multi-storey car park (Liverpool Echo Arena car park) on Sunday 31st December 2017.

Mayor Anderson (who can be watched in the video above), thanked the fire service and the other emergency services in their role responding to the fire. He also thanked Liverpool City Council staff, specifically the seven members of staff on duty manning the car park who had been involved with the evacuation of the car park. Liverpool City Council staff had made sure that the emergency services were called and stopped people going back into the car park.

He went on to explain about how people affected by the fire were supplied with accommodation and how Liverpool City Council had worked with hoteliers to do so on a “wet and wild” night.

Mayor Anderson referred to thank yous about the support given. He thanked staff at the Arena and Convention Centre and the Pullman Hotel who had supported the city through difficult times. He had asked the Association of British Insurers to urge their members to deal with insurance claims quickly. In response he had received a letter back stating that 96% had already been met.

The discs in the CCTV in the car park had been “rescued” and been “enhanced”. Copies of the video footage had been given to insurance companies. The inside of the car park had also been safely filmed by drone. There had been a lot of questions asked and he said that “some people want to bring politics of course into this which is often the case”.

On the subject of whether the car park should have had sprinklers, he stated that the car park met the legal requirements and that “car parks are for parking your car”.

Continuing he stated that the fire had started on the 3rd floor, it had started in a 16 year old car, that looked like it had been converted to a different type of fuel.

Liverpool City Council’s insurers had been “cooperative” and Liverpool City Council was dealing with them. He expected that their “full costs would be met”. Liverpool City Council staff had been on site on the day of the fire and the next day. Work had been done in an urgent way with four weeks of work carried out in a week.

He said “things are in hand”, and he wanted to make it very clear “how privileged we are to have such dedicated, professional and responsible staff”.

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Liverpool City Council’s Chief Executive Ged Fitzgerald suspended

Liverpool City Council’s Chief Executive Ged Fitzgerald suspended

Liverpool City Council’s Chief Executive Ged Fitzgerald suspended

                                                                    

Ged Fitzgerald (Chief Executive, Liverpool City Council) tries to explain devolution to a meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Panel 28th October 2015
Ged Fitzgerald (Chief Executive, Liverpool City Council) at a meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Scrutiny Panel 28th October 2015

Liverpool City Council’s Chief Executive Ged Fitzgerald (pictured above) has been suspended from his position as Chief Executive by Liverpool City Council.

He was arrested in May on suspicion of both conspiracy to pervert the cause of justice and witness intimidation as part of Lancashire Constabulary’s Operation Sheridan. Operation Sheridan is a corporate corruption investigation.

Since his arrest, Ged Fitzgerald has been bailed and rebailed a number of times.

Operation Sheridan is a long running police investigation into the Lancashire County Council’s former One Connect Ltd partnership with British Telecom. Ged Fitzgerald is a former Chief Executive of Lancashire County Council.

A number of other individuals were also arrested earlier this year as part of the same investigation.

Liverpool City Council councillors were informed of the suspension yesterday evening by email from Mayor Joe Anderson which included this statement,

“We can confirm that a meeting of the City Council’s Appointments and Disciplinary Panel met today to discuss the circumstances surrounding the Chief Executive, Ged Fitzgerald.

After deliberating carefully, the Panel took the decision to suspend him.

We must stress this is a neutral act to allow an independent investigation into issues, including potential reputational impacts on the City Council at the current time, to proceed.

It is important for the City Council, the Panel and the Chief Executive that the investigator is able to make an objective assessment and therefore we are not able to make any further comment at this stage.”

A public meeting of all Liverpool City Council’s councillors meets tomorrow evening starting at 5 pm at Liverpool Town Hall.

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Incredible: how many more people will die early from air pollution as politicians delay?

Incredible: how many more people will die early from air pollution as politicians delay?

Incredible: how many more people will die early from air pollution as politicians delay?

                                    

Mayor Joe Anderson Chair at a meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority 21st April 2017
Mayor Joe Anderson Chair at a meeting of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority 21st April 2017

Air quality is an issue that affects everybody and is a cross-cutting theme that covers both the Combined Authority Mayoral election and the General Election.

The story so far is that the judiciary ruled that the government was not doing enough to combat air pollution. Air pollution was causing an estimated 40,000 early deaths a year.

The judgement published in November 2016 ([2016] EWHC 2740 (Admin)) pointed out that the 2015 Air Quality Plan had to be quashed and the government was required to come up with a new Air Quality Plan.

Despite having 5 months to come up with a new plan, now they want to delay matters by at least a further 2 months because of the General Election (followed by a consultation).

As a result of the court case, the government were required to publish a new Air Quality Plan by 4 pm yesterday (but didn’t), instead they have made an application to the court for an extension.

I include below what was said in the House of Commons yesterday on this matter which contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
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