Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson on the work the council has been doing tackle historic issues with transparency and accountability…
Since I became Mayor, I have been committed to increasing the level of transparency and accountability within the council. These values are paramount to our improvement journey, and it is positive that they are now embedded into the organisation.
Central to the principles of transparency and accountability is the importance for complaints and feedback mechanisms that provide residents with channels to report the misuse or malpractice of entrusted power. Therefore, I want to clarify Liverpool City Council’s complaints processes for better use and understanding.
Firstly, as a council, we have struggled with issues around staff capacity. Whilst this has recently improved, we are still working through a backlog of complaints. I want to thank residents for their patience and understanding.
Anyone concerned with wrongdoing in the Council has a number of formal avenues available to raise their concerns:
Complaints:
Complaints can go through the Council’s Have Your Say process. View our complaints process here. If you are unhappy with the way your complaint has been dealt with, you have the right to take your complaint to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman (LGSCO), which is independent of local authorities and care providers.
Elected members:
If you believe that a Councillor has allegedly breach their Code of Conduct, you must report it via the dedicated form on the Council website. You can also submit complaints about Councillors directly to the political party they represent.
As Mayor, if the complaint is about a Labour Party Councillor, I can refer it to the group whip.
FOI:
In line with The Freedom of Information Act, residents can make a request for information on our website. If you are dissatisfied with the council’s response, you can contact the information commissioner’s office to report an issue.
Crime:
If criminal activity is suspected, then Merseyside Police should be contacted via their website or on 101.
Our complaints process is robust and senior officers are committed to continuously improving these processes. As Mayor, I do not influence decisions being made or changed. Once the available avenues have been exhausted, that is the end of the process.
I am aware of concerns circulating online regarding historic issues at the Council. I would like to make it very clear that we will not, under any circumstances, engage with people who make malicious comments or allegations via our social media channels.