Liverpool City Council needs drastic transformation says new chief

The council has been overseen by government commissioners in recent months

Troubled Liverpool City Council is in need of a "drastic transformation", it's interim chief executive has warned.

Theresa Grant, appointed last month, said her first task was to steady the ship and set a balanced budget.

Among the issues, a string of mistakes saw up to £10 million added to the city's energy bill.

Ms Grant, said she wanted to leave a "stable organisation" when her post ends in May.

The former chief executive of Northamptonshire County Council, who was brought in following the resignation of Tony Reeves, said she wants to "lead by example" and "get the pace back into the organisation", the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Theresa Grant was boss of Northamptonshire County Council when it underwent government intervention

Government-appointed commissioners were brought in to oversee parts of the council after inspectors found a "serious breakdown of governance" and "multiple apparent failures".

In August the government expanded its role in the city to cover financial decisions, governance and recruitment, after a range of expensive errors by the authority.

In May the Labour-led council admitted mistakes had left the authority on an extremely expensive energy tariff.

"We're fully aware of the energy impact which will impact on our reserves," Ms Grant said.

She said her priorities were to set a balanced budget for 2023, and to put in place a three-year medium term financial plan "so when I do leave in eight months there's a stable plan that people can work from".

She continued: "I have to stabilise first, what I think is needed is some transformation, maybe quite drastic transformation."

She added that with "good, strong leadership" and a "culture shift", she believed the authority "would deliver the goods".