The new minister for local government has praised Liverpool City Council’s improvement journey saying it is ‘on its way to achieving its true potential.’

In a letter to council leader Liam Robinson, Jim McMahon MP said the local authority had worked hard ‘to eliminate the poor governance, insularity, and leadership failings’ in the council.

He added: ‘The cabinet and the council’s leadership team have shown a clear dedication to provide well-needed stability to the council and improve the lives of the people of Liverpool.’

The Government sent commissioners into the city council in 2021 after a string of failures were uncovered in a review initiated after the arrest of former city mayor Joe Anderson.

The commissioners published their final report on the council’s improvement journey in July which concluded the local authority was ‘a well-governed, improving organisation, with ambitious leaders who are committed to long term change’.

The intervention formerly came to an end in June and was followed by the establishment of an Improvement Board to ensure a continued focus on improvement.

In his letter, Mr McMahon MP praised the creation of the Improvement Board and said the Government was committed to working with ‘local authorities that are or have recently been under intervention in partnership to support focus on recovery and reform.’

Cllr Robinson commented: ‘It is pleasing to see that the hard work that has gone into transforming the council has been recognised by the new Government.

‘We are determined to build a strong relationship with Whitehall, and to work closely with them on our ambitions to become one of the leading councils in the country and assist them in whatever we can in relation to delivering on their missions.’

Check out: Intervening at the local level.