Liverpool City Council commissioner vows to stamp out bullying

  • Mike Cunningham sits down with Granada Reports presenter Lucy Meacock.


The lead commissioner brought in to oversee Liverpool City Council after a damning report has promised to stamp out bullying.

The Caller report revealed there was a culture of bullying and intimidation at the council.

The Government has sent in a team in to sort it out and Mike Cunningham says staff changes have already been made.

Why was the original report done and what did it find?

Liverpool city council has been under scrutiny since police began investigating building and development contracts in December 2019.

The police probe resulted in five arrests including then mayor Joe Anderson. All the men deny any wrongdoing.

The government then ordered an inspection, led by Max Caller who published his report into problems at Liverpool City Council in March. It found evidence of a dysfunctional council, which frequently did deals that did not provide good value for taxpayers. He left out the names of those who spoke to him because they worried about reprisals.

Key findings:

  • A "worrying lack of record keeping". 

  • Documents created retrospectively, discarded in skips.

  • Evidence of "awarding of dubious contracts"

  • A lack of scrutiny and oversight across highways

  • Dysfunctional management practices & no coherent business plan

  • A failure of proper process relating to property management - and failure to value land and assets

  • An overall environment of intimidation

Who is Mike Cunningham?

Mike Cunningham is the Lead Commissioner overseeing the council for the next three years who has been tasked with helping them come up with their improvement plan. 

He's a local lad who grew up in Crosby and supports Everton. Before becoming Chief Constable of Staffordshire he was an Assistant chief constable in Lancashire.

He admits he was devastated when he read the the Caller report and that people have lost trust in Liverpool City Council. Investors are worried they'll lose money and the city's roads are gridlocked but Mike Cunningham says he's determined that he'll be part of the solution.


More: