A WHISTON councillor was among three Knowsley Labour councillors who failed to turn up at more than half their meetings last year, which included the borough’s former leader.

Cllr Andy Moorhead, who was deposed as leader in 2018 during a row over selling off Knowsley’s parks, attended the fewest meetings of any Knowsley councillor in 2020.

The Page Moss councillor turned up at just five meetings during the entire year, skipping another eight where he was expected but did not show up. 

While most Knowsley councillors actually attended more meetings in 2020 than in the previous year, possibly due to so many being held virtually since the beginning of the pandemic, Cllr Moorhead’s record actually got worse.

In 2019, he attended 43% of the meetings he was expected at, but in 2020 that figure fell to 38.5%.

But this was still not the worst attendance record on the council. Cllr Kay Moorhead attended just 37% of her meetings over the course of the year, skipping 17 council sessions – more than any other councillor.

Cllr Kay Moorhead, who is Cllr Andy Moorhead’s wife, also saw her attendance record get worse between 2019 and 2020. In 2019, the St Michael’s councillor had attended just over half of her meetings.

The only other Knowsley councillor to miss more than half their meetings in 2020 was Whiston and Cronton councillor Gillian Flatley.

Cllr Flatley missed 10 of her 19 meetings in 2020, which was an improvement on her 2019 record when she missed nine out of 15 meetings.

Cllr Flatley said: “I am a social worker, working with vulnerable families through a pandemic. I am also a mum with school age children and my husband is blind.

“I have continued to work with people in the community and have attended meetings that I have been able to during these trying times.

“I just want to set the record straight that I do take my role seriously and although I may not be able to attend every meeting, I am always available to offer support and assistance to members of the community who need it.”

Neither Cllr Andy Moorhead nor Cllr Kay Moorhead responded to the LDR for a request for comment regarding their poor attendance record over 2020.

Although meetings are not the only part of a councillor’s job, they are expected to attend them and can be kicked off the council if they fail to turn up at a meeting for six months.

Cllrs Moorhead, Moorhead and Flatley all managed to avoid going six months without attending a meeting, meaning they remain councillors and are still entitled to their basic allowance of £9,668 – the second-highest councillor’s salary in the Liverpool City Region.

On average, Knowsley councillors attended 88% of their meetings in 2020 – a significant improvement on 2019 when they turned up to just 75% of their meetings.

The move to virtual meetings after the onset of the pandemic in March may have helped improve attendance by making it easier to turn up to meetings.

Some councillors still managed to miss more than a quarter of their meetings, however, including Lib Dem group leader Carl Cashman who attended just two-thirds of the meetings he was expected at.

Cllr Cashman, who represents Prescot North, said: “A lot of younger councillors also have full time jobs that often clash with council meetings. I know that last year my full time roll clashed with other commitments but I still managed to maintain a decent record, attending two thirds of my meetings.

“This year now that I am self-employed, I have obviously been able to give myself the time to attend more meetings, which I have.

“Ultimately, my approach to the role of a councillor is that the majority of work goes on outside of the council chamber, working on the tough issues that residents have in their community and personal lives.”

Since the beginning of 2021, Cllr Cashman has not missed a meeting.

During 2020, a total of 11 Knowsley councillors attended all their meetings, another significant improvement on 2019 when just three councillors had a 100% attendance record.

The councillor with the best attendance record was Margi O’Mara, Labour councillor for Stockbridge ward, who attended all 24 of the meetings she was expected at.

But the councillor who attended the most meetings was finance chief Jayne Aston, who turned up to 28 meetings, missing just one.