A Liverpool Council cabinet member has hit back at criticism over the city’s spending on award ceremonies.
It was revealed this morning how in the last 12 months, the local authority had used almost £6,000 in taxpayer funds to provide travel and accommodation for councillors and staff to attend award ceremonies. Among them was last September’s National Pest Awards, in which Liverpool Council was named best local authority of the year.
The decision to spend the money was questioned by the opposition Liberal Democrats amid the city confirming it would no longer be able to financially support the Epstein theatre, which faces closure next week. Now, Cllr Harry Doyle, cabinet member for health, wellbeing and culture, branded the criticism as “cheap shots” that harm staff.
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He tweeted: “I see opposition parties are trying to make a thing again about awards ceremonies. It’s so weak.
“We’re changing the culture at the council, and part of that is increasing staff morale, recognising best practice and individual contribution. Cheap shots harm our staff.”
Cllr Doyle was among those who attended the Local Government Chronicle awards earlier this month. Data revealed by the council showed travel, accommodation and table bookings cost £4,637.
The Knotty Ash and Dovecot Park Labour member defended his attendance, saying he had stayed in “no thrills” accommodation and had “openly tweeted about some of us making the train journey down… in standard class!” In an email seen by the ECHO, Andrew Lewis, the new chief executive at Liverpool Council said attending awards events was not “something we do lightly” but represents “helpful recognition for our staff, and helps contribute to the sharing of best practice amongst councils.”
In his social media posts, Cllr Doyle also called on the Liberal Democrats to engage with him over the future of the Epstein Theatre. He said: “While the Liverpool Liberal Democrats try to link attending an awards ceremony to the Epstein theatre, perhaps one of them might want to actually email me asking for the background or offer solutions?
“I’ve had zero contact from any opposition on this issue.” In 2018 an agreement was struck between Epstein Entertainments Ltd, Liverpool Council and a commercial property landlord which owns the lease to the building but subleases the theatre back to the entertainment company.
As part of the management agreement, the council was to cover a proportion of the rent, service charge, utilities, and maintenance work. The local authority has financially supported the venue since the 1960s and its most recent expenditure on the Epstein was in excess of £100,000 per year.
However this funding has now come to an end, along with the management agreement.
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