Council leader hits back at calls to stand aside in 'embarrassing' emergency meeting | Major changes to bin collections | Plans for 20mph zone

By Dan Haygarth | 15/01/25

Hello,

Thank you to Katie Westwood for covering while I was on leave. Today’s Liverpool Daily Post brings you the news from last night’s emergency Wirral Council meeting as leader Paul Stuart hit back at calls to stand aside.

Elsewhere, a major change is coming to waste collections in Liverpool and a 20mph zone could be installed within the city centre as part of a 20 year plan to transform how people get around the heart of the city.

Thanks for reading.

Wirral Council's leader hits back at calls to stand aside in 'embarrassing' emergency meeting

Wirral Council’s leader hit back at critics as he faced calls to step aside during an “embarrassing” emergency meeting called over the critical state of the local authority’s finances, reports Edward Barnes.

Tensions between councillors came to the fore after the council was told to get a grip on the spiralling crisis.

The meeting was called after the local authority’s external auditors Grant Thornton published their assessment of the council’s finances for the previous financial year between April 2023 and March 2024.

It found a number of significant weaknesses in the local authority, made several recommendations including the unusual step of requesting under law the council debate their report in public due to the severity of the council’s situation.

The meeting comes at a troubling time for the local authority with councillors expected to request an emergency bailout of up to ￡40m this week as council finance bosses say bankruptcy is “highly likely” without it.

The government said it had given Wirral ￡32m for next year already and is “working hand in hand” with local authorities. Sparks flew during the meeting, with Wirral's Council leader Councillor Paul Stuart hitting back at calls from the Green Party that he should stand aside defiantly telling councillors the opposition party was failing to take responsibility for its actions.

Though Wirral is led by Labour, the leading party do not have an overall majority meaning any decision needs to be cross party. Cllr Stuart said every councillor was involved in decisions, adding: “It is time for political groups to stop blaming previous administrations for the difficult financial situation that the council finds itself in.”

He said no decision could be made by just one party and the council had had its funding cut by a quarter while costs had gone up. Before this, Cllr Jo Bird, co-leader of Wirral’s Green Party said the council “sorely needs a new style of leadership” arguing it should be “focused on good outcomes for people and the environment, not on doing the wrong things.”

She criticised Conservatives over austerity and their opposition to parking charges as well as decisions by Labour councillors, including Cllr Stuart, over the council’s Birkenhead office buildings.

She said money was being “wasted every single day while precious jobs and services are facing the chop,” adding: “Some of the very same councillors are still driving our council to the brink of bankruptcy yet again.”

However Cllr Stuart said: “Both you and your party are very good at purporting blame and taking no accountability of the decisions that you make.”

He said the decisions over the council’s offices was based on a previous officer’s advice and they would “absolutely not” have built them under current circumstances arguing the decision was made “at a different time and different economic climate.

The Liberal Democrats’ Cllr Phil Gilchrist said councillors should “not settle old scores” as the council faces a serious situation and needed to work together. Conservative opposition leader Cllr Jeff Green repeated his criticisms of previous Labour leaders for using backup reserves to fund the council’s budget, urging councillors “to deal with this issue properly and seriously.”

He added: “Simply burying your head in the sand and pretending this isn’t going to happen isn’t going to help the residents they say they care so much about,” adding: “We can sit here and blame each other but what I think the residents of Wirral want is action.”

Stronger criticism towards Labour came from Conservative Cllr Simon Mountney said it was “the most embarrassing day” in his entire time at the council arguing it had "received a really good public caning for our actions,” adding: “Why is it when you come to this place you feel empowered to irresponsible spend other people’s money?”

Addressing criticisms from the Conservatives, Cllr Stuart said: “We are where we are because of austerity. We are where we are because of 14 years of local authorities and the NHS being decimated,” adding Labour was committed to setting a balanced budget “that benefits our communities with what we have to be able to achieve that.”

Grant Thornton’s report published last week as well as the plans to request another bailout has brought into focus the local authority’s perilous position just months after it was told it had made significant progress. Concerns are being raised commissioners could be brought in to make sweeping decisions that could affect key services taking power out of local hands.

One councillor before the meeting said they expected to “get roasted by council auditors” while in a ECHO special report staff member said: "Senior officers are blaming elected members and elected members are blaming officers. It’s split both the main parties and I think it’s only just sinking in what it means.”

The local authority previously had to request emergency government support in 2021 and 2022 with ￡11m of this still needing to be paid back. This led to an independent panel being appointed for two years.

Up to ￡20m is expected to be needed to bail out the council so it can avoid issuing a Section 114 notice, effectively declaring bankruptcy, before April while a further ￡20m is reportedly needed to help the council transform its services from April. Another review of council finances is currently underway.

Major changes to bin collections coming in Liverpool

A major change is coming to waste collections in Liverpool as the city council attempts to improve recycling rates across the city, reports Liam Thorp.

If plans are approved at a cabinet meeting next Tuesday, the city council will introduce a new weekly, separate collection for household food waste in 2026. The measure follows the news that Liverpool’s domestic recycling rate sits at just 17.9%, trailing behind the national average of 43.4%.

The council is planning to introduce a major new recycling and waste strategy with an aim to reduce the amount of waste produced and bring recycling rates in line with other local authorities in the country.

The new strategy outlines steps that need to be taken in the next five years to manage waste effectively in Liverpool, reducing the negative impact it has on the environment and promoting sustainability. Currently, waste disposal costs the Council ￡27.7 million annually, which could reduce by ￡1.6m if the recycling rate was in line with the national average.

As well as cost saving, reducing the amount of waste that is sent for incineration and adopting eco-friendly practices such as carbon neutral bin lorries are seen by city leaders as crucial steps towards Liverpool City Council’s commitment to reaching net zero by 2030. Waste collection and processing currently accounts for 9% of emissions within Liverpool, which is roughly 1,700 tonnes of CO2.

To reach this goal, the strategy includes six clear objectives: To reduce purple bin waste, increase collection of recyclable materials, promote positive waste behaviours, to deliver a high performing, efficient and effective service, to optimise environmental performance and enable a circular economy to help the climate.

The council said work has already started to meet these goals, with the introduction of solar bins and underground refuse bins across the city, as well as optimising collection routes to reduce the number of emissions from waste collection vehicles.

Last year, the Council announced plans to take full control of waste collection and cleansing services, currently provided by Liverpool Streetscene Services Limited. The local authority added that its Keep Liverpool Tidy campaign has seen a big increase in community litter picking since it started in 2022.

To support local communities to make the necessary changes, the cabinet will also be asked to agree an eight-week public engagement period across the city. A series of engagement events will be held to help raise awareness of waste reduction and give residents the opportunity to discuss how the council can support them to recycle more.

The cabinet report also details upcoming changes to recycling across England, which are due to be implemented from April 1 2026. These include a new food waste collection service and an increased variety of materials that can be recycled in blue bins.

Liverpool City Council, along with local authorities across the country will have a new, weekly food waste collection next year to help bring down the amount of household waste. A significant amount of all waste in purple bins is found to be food waste (a total of 32.75%). Following the national changes, this waste will be able to be recycled and composted down instead of being sent for incineration.

Leader of Liverpool City Council, Cllr Liam Robinson said: “We’re committed to making Liverpool a cleaner, greener place to live and work, as well as reaching Net Zero across the City, and how we tackle our waste is a key component to helping us to reach that goal.

“Waste collection and processing makes up around 9% of the City’s emissions. That is too high. This new strategy outlines important steps that both the Council and our communities can make to help us to reduce the amount of carbon we’re releasing into the atmosphere.

“Reducing the amount of waste that we produce, and recycling as much of our rubbish as possible means that less gets sent to incinerators and more gets reused again and again. This could also lead to a significant cost saving for the Council, delivering best value for our residents. This new strategy is a major step towards us working together as a community to protect the environment for generations to come.”

Plans for 20mph zone in Liverpool city centre?

A 20mph zone could be installed within Liverpool city centre as part of a 20 year plan to transform how people get around the heart of the city, reports David Humphreys. A huge plan to transform parts of the city centre would include new bus routes, improved areas around transport hubs and new plans for city centre parking.

Liverpool Council is hoping to encourage people to increase their use of public transport as well as choosing to walk and cycle more. The multi-million pound investment plan follows on from additional connectivity schemes including the ￡50m redevelopment of Lime Street and the Strand. The second stage of the latter project is expected to recommence later this year.

Among the headline schemes earmarked by Liverpool Council in a wide ranging document to go before members of its cabinet when they meet next week, is the potential to introduce a 20mph zone “within the core city centre.” This will go alongside the implementation of a parking strategy to streamline guidance across the city.

It was confirmed before Christmas how parking charges across the city will increase this year as the local authority looks to raise much needed revenue. Additionally, much trailed green bus routes and the readoption of priority measures could be introduced as part of a series of immediate “quick wins.”

As revealed last year, working in partnership with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA), officials want to install special routes on key services to make the bus the preferred mode of transport and reduce journey times. The green routes will be implemented through a combination of priority lanes, traffic signal upgrades, remodelled junctions and upgraded, accessible passenger facilities.

There are hopes that an initial tranche of work to roll out the green route for the 10A between St Helens and Liverpool will start this year, initially from Lime Street to Low Hill alongside work at Monument Place.

In the longer term there are proposals to change the bus routes, which would link to bus franchising and a suggested routing map that would improve connectivity across the city and its two main underground rail stations.

Cllr Dan Barrington, cabinet member for transport and connectivity, said: “This mobility strategy presents a long-term plan for all types of movement in the city centre. It creates a clear blueprint for more active and sustainable movement.

“One of the key aspects is the improvement of the public realm. Areas such as Castle Street and London Road will be more attractive for people and businesses, boosting the attractions that Liverpool has to offer.”

“Strategies such as this are key in driving the city forward into a future that prioritises people over cars, and creates an attractive and sustainable environment for us all.”

A masterplan is to also be drawn up to guide the redevelopment of Moorfields station. In September last year, Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, earmarked the city centre location as one he would seek to kickstart further improvements at Merseyrail sites.

The city council also hopes to improve pedestrian and transport links around St George’s Gateway. In launching its strategy, the council has put the emphasis on citizens to make it a success. The document said: “The success of this plan hinges on the involvement of the people of Liverpool. Their needs and demands will guide the way forward beyond this document.

“In identifying and developing the proposals for change, it is recognised that Liverpool is a city with its own distinct character and heart. The council is committed to nurturing hope and creating opportunities that are as unique as Liverpool itself. It will embrace the city’s character in the proposals.”

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