Diane Grisdale, Senior Finance Manager, presented the report of the Director of Resources which gave the results of a review of the financial position and governance of Wirral which had been undertaken following a number of other Councils issuing Section 114 notices and receiving Public Interest Reports (PIR) from their external auditors. This report set out the findings from these reviews and compared them with Wirral’s financial position and governance alongside any lessons learnt.

Members discussed the report and noted the difficulty of comparing Councils as some had different financial policies such as levels of reserves.

Councillor Kate Cannon, who was concerned that the comparisons were not strong enough to review, moved an amendment to delete ‘review’ in ‘To review the lessons learnt’ and change it to ‘note’.

This was seconded by Councillor Kathy Hodson and agreed.

Resolved –

That the contents of the report, lessons learnt, actions, and how Wirral is ensuring it moved to a more financial sustainable position be noted.