OFFICIALS have warned Middlesbrough risks facing the same problems seen at troubled Liverpool City Council if members and officers don’t properly grasp their responsibilities. 

The Merseyside authority has faced a year of turmoil – with a visit from Government inspectors last December following investigations by police. 

The police probe resulted in a number of arrests on suspicion of fraud, bribery, corruption and misconduct in public office connected to Liverpool City Council. 

READ MORE: Mayors like Ben Houchen are 'Father Christmas leaders’ says Andy Preston

Former Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson was arrested in December on suspicion of bribery and witness intimidation, which he denies.

A “best value” report by Government inspectors in the wake of the unrest uncovered a string of weaknesses in governance arrangements – including a lack of legal oversight of key processes around regeneration and asset disposals, weak member training, and senior officers failing to formally challenge concerning behaviour. 

Middlesbrough Council is taking steps to learn lessons from the struggles of the North-west authority – particularly given it shares structural similarities with Liverpool’s mayoral model.  

A report to the latest corporate affairs and audit committee set out a raft of measures to improve governance in Middlesbrough in the coming months and years. 

But it also warned there were risks if officials and elected members didn’t grasp their roles. 

The paper added: “There is a risk that if roles and responsibilities are not fully understood and adhered to by both members and officers that Middlesbrough Council could experience the same issues as Liverpool City Council.”

A list of priorities has been drawn up by the council to strengthen its governance processes in the coming months. 

Boosting uptake of councillor training and reviewing the decision making of Middlesbrough Development Company (MDC) – the council’s development arm working on a number of projects in the town – are part of the plan. 

The document also flagged up how there was a “large proportion of members with limited local authority experience” following elections in 2019, alongside a recent loss of senior staff. 

And this has seen officials urge mandatory refresher training of the “Member Officer Protocol” – to be enshrined in the authority’s constitution. 

In June, chief executive Tony Parkinson told a scrutiny committee how Middlesbrough councillors instructing council staff and failures to attend training sessions were weaknesses which needed improving. 

Mr Parkinson said: “From our perspective, there are two major areas for us to concentrate on. 

“Member training. Our member training is good but we could tighten it up.

“I’m certainly aware of councillors who chair committees who do not attend committee chair training for example.

“I don’t think we should allow that.

“I think we should change our constitution so if you don’t attend training, you don’t take part. 

“That’s a decision for the constitution committee and the council.”

He also believed the Member Officer Protocol – the set of rules which sets out what officers employed by the council and elected politicians should and shouldn’t be doing – was an area of “major weakness”. 

The top officer added: “I don’t think it’s properly understood by enough people.

“Therefore, I think we often get officers treading into the political world, and we often get politicians treading into the officer world. 

“The Member Officer Protocol is quite clear that members do not have it in their gift to instruct staff.

“But I regularly hear about staff being instructed by members to do things. 

“Without wanting to get too adversarial about that, it can’t happen.”

However, Mr Parkinson later told the committee he was very confident Middlesbrough was not in the same situation as Liverpool. 

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Darlington Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054