Harlow Council performs well says Government watchdog
Harlow Council is “performing well” delivering
good quality services and improvements for local people, according
to an independent report published today (9 December) by Government
Inspectors the Audit Commission.
Results have been released today to show how
public services in England are performing. Under new local
government inspections an organisational assessment of Harlow
Council was carried as part of a Comprehensive Area Assessment for
Essex.
Organisational assessments focus on how well
Councils manage their finances and performance as well as the value
for money they offer. They also look at how effectively public
services work together. Councils are graded on a four point scale -
1 means poor, 2 means adequate, 3 means performing well and 4 means
excellent. Overall Harlow Council performs well.
Harlow Council’s assessment highlights a
number of areas it performs well in along with areas which require
further improvement. The report states:
- The Council has delivered well against its
priorities. In 2008/09 the Council achieved or exceeded 82 per cent
of its performance targets.
- The Council has delivered good improvements
for local people. Its use of resources is adequate. It continues to
deliver good quality services while having dealt with some
significant financial pressures.
- The Council is responding effectively to
changing economic conditions and is supporting businesses affected
by the recession.
- Resident satisfaction with the cleanliness of
the area is good and recycling rates have improved, although they
are still below average. People claiming Housing and Council Tax
benefit wait less time to get their money.
- Harlow is a safer place to live and
anti-social behaviour is reducing.
- Regeneration of the town is progressing with
a new athletics track open and new leisure centre which is shortly
to open. There are a range of plans to continue physical
improvements such as developers have been agreed for town centre
north and some estates. Facilities for young people have improved
with the opening of Youth Café and a skate park.
- The Council provides good leadership across
the district and has clear ambitions for the district. It works
well with partners to deliver priorities. Performance management
arrangements are good.
- The Council’s decision making does not always
consider the whole life cost of projects and risk management though
developing, is not yet fully effective. The Council and its
partners have more to do to improve public perceptions.
Ian Davidson, Senior Manager from the Audit Commission and
Oneplace spokesperson for Essex, said: “Harlow District Council is
delivering a range of good services and improvements for local
people. The Council is responding well to changing economic
conditions including supporting businesses that are affected by the
recession. The Benefits service has worked with partners to provide
support to those in need. There are a range of plans to
continue physical improvements such as developers have been agreed
for town centre north and some estates. Facilities for young people
have improved with the opening of Youth Café and a skate
park. The Council provides good leadership across the district
and has clear ambitions. However, this is not yet leading to
confidence from residents. The Council and its partners have more
to do to improve public perceptions.”
Councillor Andrew Johnson, Harlow Council’s
Leader, said: “I’m delighted with this independent assessment as it
acknowledges the hard work we have put in to deliver improvements
to services despite significant financial pressures. This
assessment states that we are delivering a range of good services
and improvements for local people. Our overall result compares very
well to the performance of other public services in Essex, which it
hasn’t always in the past.
“The report highlights some of our strong
partnership work like helping to make Harlow safer and regenerating
the town with the Gateway scheme and plans for Town Centre North
moving forward.
“We know our residents quite rightly
demand nothing less than the best so we will continue to do more
working with partners to keep improving performance and providing
value for money. We will use the findings from this assessment to
bring about further change. These are very difficult times for
Councils which are facing severe financial pressures as a result of
the recession. This makes improving services and providing value
for money much more of a challenge.
“Overall public services in Essex have been
praised for their response to the recession and we are playing a
part in this with our initiatives to support business and residents
through these difficult times.”
A copy of the Council's organisational
assessment can be viewed by following the below link:
Harlow
Council Organisational Assessment 2009
More information on the assessments and
reports for other public services can be found by following the below link
to the Oneplace website:
www.direct.gov.uk/oneplace
Ends
Note to editors
The new local government inspections of
comprehensive area assessments and organisational assessments
replace the old comprehensive performance assessments.