Tag: suspension

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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Liverpool City Council appeal ICO decision requiring release of bus lane suspension report

Liverpool City Council appeal ICO decision requiring release of bus lane suspension report

                                           

Mayor Joe Anderson speaking at a meeting of Liverpool City Council (8th April 2015)
Mayor Joe Anderson speaking at a meeting of Liverpool City Council

Edited 20th April 2016 by John Brace to add in missing closing parenthesis.

The author of this piece is the Appellant in two cases before the First-Tier Tribunal (Information Rights). These are John Michael Brace v Information Commissioner & Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council (EA/2016/0033) and John Brace v Information Commissioner & Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority (EA/2016/0054).

Liverpool City Council have taken the step of appealing to the First Tier-Tribunal (Information Rights) a decision notice of the regulator ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office). The decision notice required Liverpool City Council to provide the draft report in response to a request. However due to the appeal, the outcome of the appeal will determine whether Liverpool City Council have to release the draft report.

The case is listed as case number EA/2016/0084. The decision notice issued on the 8th March 2016 (FER0601794 (which can be viewed on ICO’s website)) is about an Environmental Information Regulations request for a draft Mott McDonald report to Liverpool City Council about Liverpool’s bus lanes. The title of the report is Liverpool Transport Corridors & Bus Lane Suspension.

Had the decision not been appealed, Liverpool City Council would’ve had to release the draft report before polling day (5th May 2016) in the combined elections for local councillor, Mayor of Liverpool and Police and Crime Commissioner for Merseyside.

Liverpool City Council disagree that the draft report should be released on an alleged claim of commercial confidentiality and an alleged claim of adverse impact on those who supplied information to Mott McDonald. The Information Commissioner’s view is that Liverpool City Council have failed to show that these exceptions are engaged.

The final report can be read on Liverpool City Council’s website.

The suspension of various bus lanes in Liverpool has been unpopular with at least one major bus company who stated at a public meeting that it has affected the punctuality of buses on the affected routes. The representative of the bus company also called for the bus lane suspensions to be reversed.

The decision by the Labour administration on Liverpool City Council to proceed with the suspension of the bus lanes was opposed by the Green Party opposition on Liverpool City Council.

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Employment and Appointments Committee (Special) Wirral Council 18th September 2012 Part 1

The agenda and reports for this meeting are on Wirral Council’s website.

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The meeting started at 5.30pm.

Employment and Appointments Committee

Cllr Paul Doughty (Labour, Chair)
Cllr Ann McLachlan (Labour)
Cllr Adrian Jones (Labour)
Cllr George Davies (Labour)
Cllr Phil Davies (Labour)
Cllr Jeff Green (Conservative, spokesperson)
Cllr Lesley Rennie (Conservative)
Cllr Mark Johnston (Liberal Democrat, spokesperson)

In attendance
Cllr Tom Harney (Liberal Democrat, Leader)
Three members of the public.

Cllr Paul Doughty (Labour, Chair) opened the meeting.

Cllr Jeff Green (Conservative, spokesperson) said that Cllr Peter Kearney (Conservative) had just qualified as a solicitor. A joke was made.

Cllr Paul Doughty (Labour, Chair) welcomed people and asked for declarations of interest. No declarations of interest were made.

Cllr Paul Doughty (Labour, Chair) asked Chris Hyams, Head of HR & Organisational Development to talk about item 2 (Senior Management Restructure.

Instead of Chris Hyams, Interim Chief Executive Graham Burgess spoke about the Improvement Plan, a “coordinated management approach”, a meeting on Thursday morning to significantly reduce tiers, a future Cabinet report in a “month or two” and a future Council meeting. He said the Strategic Directors would be at Deputy Chief Executive level and changes to the pay policy would have to be agreed by Council, he also talked about the acting appointments, suspensions and how they needed to extend and confirm a number of people in various posts. The Interim Chief Executive referred to Surjit Tour, Peter Timmins, Tom Sault, David Armstrong, Julia Hassall and Chris McCarthy.

Cllr Jeff Green (Conservative, spokesperson) asked a question, which was answered by Chris Hyams. She said they had had further representations and following advice, in September they would be setting up a subcommittee for the recruitment process. She referred to the outcome of the Chief Officers’ suspensions and an amended resolution, a consultation with Chief Officers and how it would be inappropriate to make permanent appointments.

Cllr Paul Doughty (Labour, Chair) asked if everyone had a copy?

At 5.43 pm, Cllr Peter Kearney (Conservative) arrived.