Liverpool City Council has released the names of two councillors who received summonses for late or non-payment of council tax between 2019 and 2024. Following a Freedom of Information request, the Information Commissioner’s Office instructed the council to publish the information. The council had initially resisted, citing the councillors’ right to privacy. Neither had voted on a council tax motion while in arrears. The councillors concerned are Tom Cardwell and Lisa Gaughan.
Cardwell is a member of the Labour Party and represents Wavertree. Gaughan was elected in Kensington and Fairfield for the Liberal Democrats in May 2021. Both are still serving on the council. A council spokesperson said the information was published in accordance with ICO guidance.
In response to the council’s decision, Cardwell said he had made a mistake and apologised to his constituents. Gaughan referred questions to her party, which said it did not comment on personal matters. Paul Clein, councillor for Mossley Hill and a former chair of the council’s audit committee, which oversees financial probity, criticised the decision to withhold the names. He said it was in the public’s interest to know, adding that the council should not have presented itself as being above the law.
Council tax has been a sensitive issue for some councillors in the city since a 2015 scandal over false invoices. A number of identified Labour councillors, including two former mayors, were accused of separately or jointly submitting duplicate claims in order to boost their allowances, which are partly determined by residence status. At least £77,000 was repaid. One councillor, Joe Anderson, who was then the council’s leader, denied wrongdoing but later resigned over a separate matter
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