Liverpool MPs hit out at pay rise awarded to commissioners

The government appointed commissioners to oversee council departments after a damning report

The government's decision to increase wages for officials overseeing troubled Liverpool City Council has been described by angry MPs as "perverse".

Commissioners were brought in to oversee several of the authority's departments following a damning report.

They were initially paid a daily rate of £800 and £700, but had that increased to £1,200 and £1,100.

In a letter to Michael Gove MP, the city's Labour MPs call on the commissioners to reject the increase.

The council's chief executive Tony Reeves recently said the council is "expected and required" to meet the new, higher rates for commissioner fees set by government, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The letter, from Paula Barker MP, Ian Byrne MP, Dan Carden MP, Maria Eagle MP and Kim Johnson MP, said the decision was taken without any consultation or concern for the council's stretched budget.

It read: "This decision could not have come at a worse time and it will be rightly seen by our constituents, in this context, as a perverse and unjustifiable decision."

The MPs also rejected levelling up minister Mr Gove's assertion the pay was comparable to that of a council chief executive.

Mayor Joanne Anderson said it was not right that council tax payers should foot the bill

Describing the rise as "eye watering," the MPs said it would have a detrimental effect on staff morale.

They called on lead commissioner Mike Cunningham and his team to "do the right thing" and turn down the increase.

Labour councillors have written directly to Mr Cunningham.

Anthony Lavelle, representing the party's 70-strong, group said: "When our residents face financial hardship as the cost of living crisis begins to hit, it cannot be right that you get paid more in one or two days' work than most of our residents pay in council tax in one year."

The letter said it would be "morally right" for the commissioners to send the increased pay back to government.

Last week, the city's mayor Joanne Anderson said she accepted the city needed intervention and improvement, but she said it was not right that council tax payers should foot the bill.

Green party leader Tom Crone also said he was "disgusted" by the rise.

He added: "It's true that after the catastrophic failures of the previous mayor some kind of intervention was inevitable, but to hike the bill for no apparent reason when the council has no choice but to comply is difficult to understand."

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