Following the publication of the Best Value Inspection report, Liverpool City Council embarked on a three-year improvement journey. Interim Chief Executive Theresa Grant outlines how a restructure of the organisation will help deliver best value for residents.
“A tremendous amount of work has been going on in Liverpool over the last 18 months to address the issues which led to the appointment of Commissioners.
We have now begun a restructure at the top of the organisation to underpin and embed these improvements and drive them further and faster.
This is not just a shuffling of positions or giving people new job titles. It will stabilise the organisation by ending the recent cycle of interim appointments. Crucially, it will give us more capacity and capability so we can achieve better outcomes, drive improvements at pace and better serve our residents.
There will be several brand new positions to address some of the fundamental issues affecting the quality of life for our residents, and enable us to deliver services in a smarter and more efficient way.
At a time when we have fewer staff and a smaller budget, we have to find new ways to maximise the impact our services make. This means doing away with silos, and embedding collaborative working, shared intelligence and joined-up thinking throughout our organisation.
With this in mind, there will be a new position of Corporate Director of Neighbourhoods and Housing to lead on environmental services, housing, safer city and communities, highways and transport and neighbourhoods. All of these services touch upon the lives of residents and play a key role in affecting their quality of life.
There will also be a new Director of Housing, in recognition of the major challenges we face to improve the condition, tenure and range of properties available in the city, working in partnership with housing associations and private landlords to drive up standards.
We are putting transformation and continuous improvement front and centre of the restructure. We are looking to have a Director of Transformation; Director of ICT and Digital; a Director of Adult Health and Social Care Improvement; a Director of Finance Improvement and a Director of Children’s Service Improvement.
It is no exaggeration to say that we are reviewing absolutely everything we do – and how we do it – this has led to the introduction of a new set of leadership behaviours and will mean that every person in the organisation will either be in a different role, or working in a very different way, in the next couple of years. After consultation has been completed, we hope to have everything in place by the end of February.
I have always known that Liverpool is an amazing city.
Since my arrival, I have realised how much of that is down to its people. I have never before experienced the passion for public service that I have witnessed in Liverpool.
Its staff are its greatest asset and it is not down to them that the council has found itself in the position it is. Moreover, they are the key to its future success and my job is to unlock their potential so they help drive the change. In order to deliver that, we must attract and retain the very best talent to lead, motivate and empower them.”
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