BIRKENHEAD MP Frank Field called on a Government minister to send in commissioners to run Wirral Council following a series of "administrative failings."

Speaking at a Parliamentary debate at Westminster Hall this afternoon, he listed three failed initiatives which he said had cost the local authority around £60m in missed grants.

He told Local Government and Communities minister Bob Neill that senior officers “either couldn’t be bothered or were not efficient enough” to get an application for a Rock Ferry housing scheme completed on time.

He claimed Wirral councillors were not aware of an agreement to undertake a long-term rental scheme at the Cheshire Lines building in Birkenhead, costing £11m.

And finally, he said, plans to create a new building to house the academy school at Birkenhead were not developed by the deadline and meant the borough lost out on a £40m grant.

“This is about the quality and the judgements senior officers have made,” said Mr Field.

“What we have seen is a series of appalling errors of judgement and crass inefficiency from a small group of senior officers.”

Wirral West Conservative MP Esther McVey agreed with Mr Field’s comments about the authority’s failings, but said its politicians should be held to account.

She said: “This is the tip of the iceberg for Wirral. There’s a lot that has gone wrong but for politicians to side-step their responsibilities and hand blame over to officers is political cowardice at its worst.

“The people who were responsible and were leading the council should take the blame that is attributable to them.”

Mr Neill said: “I’m sure that everyone will understand that I cannot comment on individual cases.

"But I agree that we should hold councillors to account and they should hold their officers to account."

And referring to the Anna Klonowski social services investigation sparked by whistle-blower Martin Morton, the minister added: “In Wirral there have been matters of great concern and I’m aware of the allegations made by the whistle-blower.

"But it is worth saying that he was able to make his concerns public though the local paper - the Wirral Globe.”

In a statement, council chief executive Jim Wilkie said: “All matters have been raised in the past. It’s not appropriate to comment further at this time.

“However, I am pleased that the minister recognises the significant work currently going on with the Local Government Association to make the necessary improvements we need to move forward in the future.”