Politicians accused of 'poor practices' to have parking tickets thrown out
The interim chief executive of Liverpool City Council has said the historic cancellation of parking fines for elected members showed an "unacceptable culture".
A Freedom of Information request by the Liverpool Echo newspaper showed 51 penalty charge notices were challenged and rescinded by councillors at the authority between April 2015 and December 2020.
The city council is being partially overseen by government commissioners after a critical inspection report which followed the arrest of then-mayor Joe Anderson, along with a number of other people, in December 2020 as part of a Merseyside Police fraud investigation.
Interim chief executive Theresa Grant, who took over after Tony Reeves stepped down last year, said: "We have released historic information about parking penalty charge notices issued to elected members that were cancelled between 2015 and 2020.
"It highlights previous poor practice, relating to past processes and scrutiny of the way the council used to be run.
"It is, sadly, an example of the unacceptable culture that pervaded parts of the council in the past, as documented in the 'best value' inspection report.
"I want to be clear that what happened historically is no reflection of the council's current parking services staff nor management team.
"It is important to remember that much has changed at Liverpool City Council and we are now a more mature organisation, one that is open and transparent about decision-making."
Current mayor Joanne Anderson said an internal audit of parking services will pick up issues arising from the disclosure.
She said: "The Cabinet and I have been working hard since my election as mayor in May 2021 to change the culture of the council to one that is fully focused on delivering best value for its residents.
"We cannot change what happened in the past but it is vital that we learn from it and make sure we are as transparent as possible when it comes to decision-making, with the correct governance and audit procedures in place."
Lead commissioner Mike Cunningham said: "The information released today shines a light on the poor practices that have been all too common in Liverpool City Council.
"However, it is information that the public have a right to know and, although it has taken too long for this information to be shared, we welcome the transparent approach the council is now taking to publishing it."
Commissioners were appointed to oversee parts of the local authority in 2021 after the inspection report found allegations of bullying and intimidation.
Last August, it was announced that government intervention would be expanded to include governance and financial decision-making following another critical report.
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