Monday, July 27, 2009

Questions posed to the Leader of Liverpool City Council, 8th July 2009 - Q30

Question

Can the Leader say what steps have the council taken to encourage applications from the BME communities for Executive posts?

Answer

Recruitment consultants engaged as part of a procurement exercise – Oct 08 were
challenged by award of contract as to how they will ensure that they attract a diverse range of applicants through their search process. This will be evaluated after 12 months.


Verbal supplementary question

The report from the review, chaired by Cllr Fielding in 2000, stated “In the year 2007, Liverpool will celebrate 800 years since it was granted the charter which made it a city. In the next seven years the City Council must take up this challenge to change in a planned, strategic way. The city’s celebrations in 2007 will be a milestone. The council will have a public opportunity to show that equality is at the heart of its vision, values, pledges, policies, contracts and actions.” 2007 has been and gone, and that public opportunity was lost to us. Equality, it seems, is no more at the heart of what we do than it was back in 2000 when Cllr Fielding published her damning report. Why are we only addressing this now?

Verbal response

The Leader said that he was disappointed in me for asking so many questions on this subject, that it was not like me to press in this fashion and that I had clearly been put up to it. He repeated his insistence that Cllr Twigger would deal with all such matters in due course.

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