The government has taken steps over the running of Liverpool City Council.
Local Government minister Robert Jenrick outlined the plans to Parliament on Wednesday following what he called a ‘serious breakdown of governance’.
If accepted by the council, commissioners appointed by Whitehall will help oversee the day-to-day running of its operations for up to three years.
Such a move has happened just three times before in Northampton, Rotherham and Tower Hamlets but never with a city of Liverpool’s population.
Mr Jenrick said an emergency inspection had uncovered a ‘dysfunctional culture’ in the Labour-run local authority previously led by Joe Anderson.
However the intervention will not affect the schedule to appoint Anderson’s successor as the city’s directly-elected Mayor at the local elections on May 6.
Anderson stood aside from his post in December after he was one of five men arrested as part of a police probe into the awarding of building contracts.
“As a whole, the report is unequivocal: Liverpool city council has failed in numerous respects to comply with its best value duties,” Mr Jenrick told the House of Commons.
“It concludes that the council consistently failed to meet its statutory and managerial responsibilities and that the pervasive culture appeared to be rule avoidance.”
As part of the restructuring process, the number of councillors will also be reduced from its current figure of 90, with 72 positions held by Labour.
Local elections are also set to change with a four-year cycle from 2023 with each ward having one councillor instead of the current arrangement of three.
In a joint statement, Liverpool’s acting mayor Wendy Simon and council chief executive Tony Reeves said: “This is a difficult day for our organisation and we take the report findings extremely seriously.
“The inspector’s report has highlighted several failings, but there is a collective commitment from both councillors and officers to learn from these mistakes.
“We would like to reassure all residents and businesses that we will take action to address all of the issues highlighted.
“We know we need to rebuild your trust.”