Liverpool City Council's intervention team found a lack of competence and capacity, and a failure by senior officers to grasp the seriousness of the situation, their first letter detailing their progress said.

And the failures of the councils stretch beyond the property, highways and regeneration departments, into the corporate core, including governance, finance, IT and legal services.The intervention team has appointed a team from the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy to review the council's finance position, after it emerged there was a significant overspend for the current financial year, with fears of a budget gap for next year.