Council officers in Liverpool binned dozens of parking tickets given to councillors without going through any formal process, according to a report by the city’s local newspaper.
An investigation by the Liverpool Echo has revealed that 14 current and former politicians had a total of 51 Penalty Charge Notices cancelled over a five-year period.
The council's current interim chief executive Theresa Grant said it was ‘an example of the unacceptable culture that pervaded parts of the council in the past’.
The lead government commissioner overseeing improvements at the council said the revelations ‘shine a light on the poor practices that have been all too common in Liverpool City Council.’
All those named have provided full responses and explanations for why they had their parking tickets rescinded, according to the Post.
Several said they were acting in good faith based on advice and guidance from senior officers and believed they have done nothing wrong.
In most cases the councillors said they believed it was the correct practice or that they had an operational pass or position which allowed them to park where they had done.
The council said it had made many changes to its governance systems and processes and that any elected member querying a ticket should have been directed to the standard appeals process for parking tickets.
The council’s ruling Labour Party said there was a ‘custom and practice’ in the city council at the time where parking tickets issued against councillors in the course of their duties could be rescinded and that councillors operated on that basis in ‘good faith.’
The party said the situation ‘reflects a period in the council when its corporate behaviours were not what they should have been.’
