Robert Jenrick says commissioners will help run Liverpool city council to fix mismanagement – live

10.39am EDT 10:39

In its response to the Jenrick announcement, Liverpool city council has put out a statement saying it takes the findings of the report about its failings “extremely seriously” and that it will be publishing an improvement plan after the local elections.

It includes a joint statement from Wendy Simon, the acting mayor, and Tony Reeves, the chief executive, who said:

This is a difficult day for our organisation and we take the report findings extremely seriously.

The inspector’s report has highlighted several failings, but there is a collective commitment from both councillors and officers to learn from these mistakes.

We would like to reassure all residents and businesses that we will take action to address all of the issues highlighted. We know we need to rebuild your trust.

It is reassuring that the inspector believes we have made progress in starting to deliver the wholesale changes needed.

A detailed improvement plan is being drawn up and will be implemented in full.

10.32am EDT 10:32

Here is my colleague Josh Halliday’s story on the government’s proposal to send commissioners to Liverpool to help run its city council.

10.25am EDT 10:25

Dan Carden (Lab) says people in Liverpool are concerned this is a takeover by Whitehall.

Jenrick says there will be elections in May, and a new mayor will be elected. He says, if commissioners are sent to the city, they will be there to support the mayor and councillors. They will be given powers to act, he says. But he says it is his hope and expectation that they will not need to use those powers.

10.18am EDT 10:18

Jenrick says he thinks there have been other councils where having councillors elected in thirds (ie, not all at once) reduced accountability. He says he would like to see more authorities moving to “all-out” elections.

10.13am EDT 10:13

Labour to launch its own review of the party in Liverpool, MPs told

Steve Reed, the shadow communities secretary, said Labour backed the action the government was taking.

This was not a “Tory takeover” of the council, he said.

He said, instead, this was about professional people helping the council to turn around.

He said Labour would launch its own review into the party in Liverpool, and that action would be taken if there was evidence of wrongdoing.

10.07am EDT 10:07

Jenrick says another issue is that Liverpool council has elections every year.

He says he is instead proposing to change the system, so that from 2023 it will hold “all-out” elections (when all councillors are up for re-election at the same time).

He says he wants to work with Steve Rotheram, the Labour mayor of Liverpool city region, in dealing with this problem. He said earlier the Liverpool city region was not involved in the problem.

And he ends by saying, as the son and grandson of Liverpudlians, he wants to start a new chapter for the city.

10.02am EDT 10:02

Jenrick says government appointing commissioners to help run Liverpool council

Jenrick says he needs to intervene in the council.

He says he is planning to appoint commissioners who will take over certain “limited” council functions for a minimum of three years.

The council will have to draw up an improvement plan, he says.

He says he is writing to the council about that today.

UPDATE: Jenrick said:

Given the gravity of the inspection findings, I must consider what would happen if the council fails to deliver the necessary changes at the necessary speed.

I’m consequently proposing to direct the transfer of all executive functions associated with regeneration, highways and property management at the authority to the commissioners. These are for use should the council not satisfy the commissioners in their improvement processes.

I hope it won’t be necessary for the commissioners to use these powers, but they must be – in my view – empowered to do so to deliver the reforms that are required.

Updated at 10.21am EDT

9.56am EDT 09:56

Jenrick says damning inquiry found Liverpool council dogged by mismanagement and ‘rule avoidance’

Robert Jenrick says the police have been carrying out an investigation with significant links to Liverpool council.

He says he commissioned a best value inspection.

That is being published today.

It paints a “deeply concerning picture of mismanagement, the breakdown of scrutiny and accountability, a dysfunctional culture, putting the spending of public funds at risk”.

The report identifies multiple apparent failures by Liverpool city council in complying with its best value duty.

This includes a failure of proper and due process across planning and regeneration including worrying lack of record-keeping – indeed, documentation had sometimes been created retrospectively, discarded in skips or even destroyed.

A lack of scrutiny and oversight across highways, including dysfunctional management practices, no coherent business plan and the awarding of dubious contracts.

A failure of proper process relating to property management, including compliance with the council’s own standing orders, leading to a continued failure to correctly value land and assets – meaning taxpayers frequently lost out.

He says there was an environment of intimidation, according to the report. One person said the only way to survive in the council was not to ask too many questions, or apply professional standards.

The council was not meeting acceptable standards, he says

The pervasive culture seemed to be “rule avoidance”, according to the report, Jenrick says.

He says the report does not criticise all staff.

And he says the chief executive, Tony Reeves, has been playing a valuable role.

Updated at 10.23am EDT

9.46am EDT 09:46

Priti Patel’s statement is over. We are now about the get a statement in the Commons from Robert Jenrick, the communities secretary, about plans to intervene in Liverpool council following corruption allegations.

Here is our overnight preview.

And this is from the Times’ Patrick Maguire.

9.38am EDT 09:38

Sturgeon taunts Davidson about going to Lords at last FMQs before Scottish election

Libby Brooks

In the Scottish parliament, after a succession of bruising FMQs in recent weeks, all focused on the Salmond inquiry, both the Tories and Labour pivoted away from the topic today, with Ruth Davidson challenging the SNP’s record on the attainment gap and Anas Sarwar leading on unanswered questions about children who died because of hospital infections at Glasgow’s super-hospital.

Nicola Sturgeon pointed out that Davidson could have been asking about education in previous weeks but instead had indulged in “smears” regarding Salmond.

After Sturgeon’s second mention of the fact that this was Davidson’s final appearance before she takes her seat in “the unelected House of Lords”, presiding officer Ken Mcintosh intervened to ask the first minister not to be so personal. “Gallant, but not required,” Davidson immediately replied.

“It’s not me that’s running away from responsibility and accountability,” Sturgeon told Davidson, saying she would now “put myself before the Scottish people”. This is of course the final FMQs and the final day of parliament before the Holyrood election campaign begins, so can we learn anything from this session about the likely arguments?

The Lib Dems too went in on Sturgeon’s record on education – pointing out that her party has been in government for 14 years, not just the past five.

The Scottish government’s record on public services certainly ought to be central to the campaign, and one of Anas Sarwar’s key messages as the new Scottish Labour leader is the need to move away from binaries such as Salmond v Sturgeon or independence v the union and come together beyond the pandemic. But, as pollster John Curtice pointed out at a pre-election briefing this morning, the evidence suggests that the constitutional question remains central to voters’ choices in this election.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Tories have already been setting out their stall focusing on “SNP sleaze”. Who knows if education will get a hearing beyond this FMQs.

Nicola Sturgeon in the Scottish parliament yesterday. Photograph: Getty Images

Updated at 9.59am EDT