About the Council

Our Knowsley Offer consultation told us that the cost of living crisis was the most significant concern for Knowsley people.

So the Council moved quickly, in partnership with local organisations, to deliver support, including supplementing Government programmes with bespoke schemes aligned to specific local needs.  This included a £4.5m Knowsley Better Together Hardship Fund, providing tailored support to residents, one-off payments to pensioners, and free activities and food for thousands of local children.

Additionally, 41 community projects and voluntary organisations recently secured £240,000 from the Council’s Public Health Winter Wellness Programme to reduce social isolation and keep residents warm and well.  Furthermore, 50 projects delivered by Knowsley’s voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise sector secured funding from the Council’s Stronger Communities Fund in support of the Knowsley Council Plan.

The Knowsley Offer consultation also identified anti-social behaviour as a key priority, so the Council invested £1m in the Crime and Communities Service, working with partners to tackle crime.  The outcome was a 23% reduction in anti-social behaviour this year.

Demand for temporary accommodation is high, so we introduced an Affordable Housing Access Fund and a Private Rented Sector Rescue Scheme, and we are purchasing private sector housing to provide additional temporary accommodation to address demand.  We are preventing homelessness and keeping families together – 1,000 more affordable homes will be delivered in Knowsley over the next five years.

Ensuring that children get the best start in life is also a key priority.  Hundreds of families are supported from the crucial early years through the Knowsley Family Hub, which opened in September and provides a one-stop-shop of services, support and access to professionals.

All Knowsley nurseries, 92% of primary schools, and 66% of secondary schools are judged to be “Good” or better by Ofsted.

Improvements in Children’s Social Care have continued.  This year, the Council’s Cared for Children and Care Experienced Strategies have dramatically increased the number of care experienced people in education, employment or training – now at 64% (up from 52% in 2022/23, and above the national average of 55%).

Our children’s homes are performing well.  Our short breaks service, Oasis (Ofsted rated “Good”) has this year supported 23 children to remain living with family by preventing relationship breakdowns.

Bedford Close residential home (also judged “Good” by Ofsted) provides a safe and secure environment for children, and our respite service for children with disabilities, Fullerton Grove, was also recently judged “Good” by Ofsted, noting the “Outstanding” effective leadership.

An improved local offer for care experienced young people was launched in October 2023, providing essential support to help them make a successful transition into adult life.  Securing £223,000 from the Staying Close Fund this year will allow the Council to do even more – including move-on accommodation and enhanced practical and emotional support.

Meanwhile, the Council’s edge of care support saw a 41% reduction in children missing episodes.  85% of children referred into the Multi-Systemic Therapy for Children Abuse and Neglect service remain safely living at home, and 50 families have been supported through the Safe Families service, helping to prevent children from becoming cared for.

In 2023, Knowsley’s Youth Offending Service was rated “Good” by HM Inspectorate of Probation Services, and “Outstanding” for staff, assessment, planning, implementation and delivery.

Despite national challenges across the social care sector, Knowsley’s Adult Social Care service continues to deliver.  This year, we have supported nearly 4,900 residents to live independently at home with the correct support and care.

The Council’s work to support local hospitals and the wider NHS has resulted in 95% of residents hospitalised this year returning to their own homes when discharged.

Knowsley’s Adult Social Care service currently ranks fourteenth highest nationally in relation to people using services and having control over their daily lives and tenth nationally for overall satisfaction of carers.

The Council continues to deliver large regeneration projects whose benefits will be felt for years to come.

Despite times of huge economic uncertainty, the Council has invested over £50m in the last three years to grow the local economy, support people into employment, and enhance services and support to residents and businesses.

In 2023, this focused on continued improvements to town centres, major residential and commercial development programmes, and ambitious transport infrastructure improvements.

Knowsley’s town centres are bucking the national trend – despite incredibly challenging times for UK high streets, the picture in Knowsley is improving and is now the best it has been for decades.

The Council boosted the town of Prescot by building the Shakespeare North Playhouse, which opened last year.  The Playhouse is the result of a bold decision taken by the Council who led the way with significant investment and were followed by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, Government, Arts Trusts, private benefactors and supporters including Dame Judi Dench and Lady Anne Dodd.

The “Shakespeare effect” is evident in Prescot with a growing night-time economy of Shakespeare-themed bars and eateries.  The Playhouse attracted 140,000 visitors in its first year, boosting the local economy by £5.3m.

The Council is not standing still and has recently purchased Prescot’s indoor shopping centre, which had suffered significant decline whilst in private ownership, with plans being developed to breathe new life into this once popular destination.

In Huyton, the nighttime economy is growing rapidly, thanks to the Council’s investment in the town.  In the past two years, eight new hospitality businesses have opened and future plans include a mixed-used commercial district with opportunities for a hotel, office space, co-working centre and residential accommodation.  This could bring 1,700 jobs and an annual £50m boost to the local economy, transforming one of the most deprived areas in the country.

Meanwhile, Kirkby is reaping the rewards of Council investment.  The Council purchased the town centre for £44m in 2019 after decades of failed private sector promises of regeneration.  Just two years later and despite a global pandemic, the Council delivered a brand new 94,000 feet² retail development.  New businesses now open regularly.  BBC research highlighted a staggering 160% increase in town centre footfall and the Financial Times described Kirkby as one of the top three places in the UK for pandemic recovery.  The scheme is currently boosting the local economy by £15.3m per annum and has created 500 local jobs.

The Council’s successful track record of delivery secured £15.3m from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund this year to improve the leisure and retail offer at Halewood’s district centre and the Council has also secured £20m from the Government’s Long-Term Plan for Towns Fund to further develop Kirkby.

The Council’s Growth Strategy is also having a major impact on house building.  Targets have been exceeded with 4,000 new homes built in the last five years, generating a 21% increase in Knowsley’s Council Tax base (well above the national average of 13%) and contributing directly to enhancing and improving services and infrastructure with over £28m secured through agreements with developers.  House prices have increased by 25.6% since 2020 (compared to 17.5% nationally), and over 1,000 affordable homes have been delivered in five years (affordable rent, Extra Care, and supported home ownership).

Without this investment in growth, the Council’s budget would now be unsustainable – the ambitious approach has effectively saved local services and avoided the financial problems being experienced by local authorities elsewhere in the country.

The Council’s Business Growth Team is attracting new businesses into the area, supporting others to expand or diversify, and providing employment support.  In 2023, £496m of business growth was recorded, creating 1,906 jobs.

In October 2023, a new railway station opened in Kirkby – a project delivered in partnership with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority – which has significantly improved local transport connectivity across the region, cutting journey times for thousands of residents and improving access to work, education and leisure opportunities.

The Council is also delivering an enviable cultural offer.  Last year, as host of the Liverpool City Region Borough of Culture, Knowsley smashed all expectations, delivering 60 events (most of them free) and attracted over half a million people into the Borough (more than three times its population).  Culture remains integral to the Council’s offer – in 2024, to mark Knowsley’s 50^th Anniversary, another full programme of activities is planned.

The Council has prioritised decarbonisation of public buildings, with £4.5m of grant funding secured to reduce gas and electricity bills and significantly reduce carbon emissions.  Kirkby Leisure Centre has been decarbonised through an LED light replacement scheme and installation of over 750 solar panels and air source heat pumps. 

Since June 2023, all Council reports must consider the “Climate Emergency Implications” of the proposed recommendations, including carbon emissions and climate change. 

Our Street Light Replacement Programme is progressing ahead of schedule with 10,675 new LED lanterns installed. 

Steps have also been taken to electrify the Council’s fleet vehicles as part of the Fleet Replacement Programme. 

The Council’s green infrastructure programme recognises the mental and physical wellbeing benefits of greenspaces.  An ambitious Woodland Creation Plan is underway and 30 hectares of land have been identified for new woodland creation.  Extensive partnership tree planting schemes are ongoing, including through the Urban Tree Challenge Fund, Trees for Climate and the Coronation Living Heritage Fund.

Knowsley’s success is driven by effective leadership and robust financial management – both highlighted in a recent LGA Peer Review.

Rather than only making cuts in response to austerity, the Council realised that it needed to grow, become more sustainable, and depend less on Government support.  The Council was proactive and bold, determined not merely to survive the economic challenge, but emerge stronger.  Our strategic approach to growth and wise investments means that longer-term opportunity has not been sacrificed for short-term survival.

Despite enormous financial challenges, we have managed to deliver both bespoke short-term support to local people and businesses as well as major infrastructure improvements which will improve the experience of living and working in the Borough for generations to come.

Knowsley’s approach proves that a local authority can become “master of its own destiny”, even in the face of the most drastic funding cuts and significant social and economic disadvantages.

The Council’s professional and political leadership is united that there should be no holding back and no acceptance that our people and places should be restricted by the challenges of relative deprivation.  As a result, Knowsley persistently overachieves.  The Council is determined to create opportunity for everyone and is doing just that through effective leadership, a collaborative approach and sheer determination.

There are not many local authorities who can say that in the past year or so they’ve delivered a brand new theatre, a new railway station, and seen footfall across town centres significantly increase.  None of this happened by accident – it is a result of deliberate and tough decisions taken by the Council about how best to invest in the Borough’s future – Knowsley has refused to let the short-term challenges of today steal away a more prosperous future.