Harlow Council set to lose "poor" tag
Harlow Council is one step closer to losing
its “Poor” rating after the Audit Commission agreed to re-inspect
the Council later this year in the summer.
In 2004, the Council was inspected by
Government watchdogs the Audit Commission. They graded every
Council in the UK according to their performance with ratings
ranging from Poor through to Excellent. This is known as
Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA)
Since being graded as ‘Poor’, Harlow Council
has been working hard to improve its ways of working, its
performance and its financial management. The Audit Commission will
undertake re-categorisation only where there is significant
evidence to indicate a potential rating change.
Since 2004 the Council has made significant
progress and its achievements include:
·
Undertaking extensive public consultation and using the findings to
set clear priorities and to make consistent budget decisions.
·
Introducing a wide range of improvements to services particularly
in the areas of environmental and recycling services.
·
Positive Audit Reports from the Audit Commission in 2005 and 2006
recognising the progress since its CPA inspection in 2004.
·
Introducing new performance management systems. Currently 76% of
the Council’s national performance indicators are improving against
a national average for District Councils of 58%.
·
Two external best value reviews rated housing and environmental
services “fair” with excellent prospects for improvement. The
only Council to get two ‘excellent prospects for improvement’ over
such a wide range of services.
·
Leading the way in partnership working by setting up a new company
– Kier Harlow Limited – to deliver housing property and
environmental services for local people.
Joint Leader Tony Durcan says: “Harlow is now
ready for re-inspection. Harlow Council of 2007 is now very
different from the Council of 2004 that was rated “Poor”. The
improvements are too numerous to mention and I would like to thank
Councillors and Officers for their hard work over the past three
years. We are confident that the “Poor” tag will be a thing of the
past.”
Joint leader Chris Millington says: “At the
beginning of February we applied to be re-graded in the light of
the significant progress that has been made. We believe that
not every Council that applied for reassessment has been successful
so it gives us strong belief that our grading will improve. With
all the achievements and progress made since 2004 we feel we are no
longer a “Poor” Council. We are confident the Audit Commission will
think that too.”
In a letter received last week from the Audit
Commission about the Council’s re-categorisation, it stated: “The
Council appears to have strengthened achievement as evidenced by
the improved performance indicators and external inspections.
The Council also appears to be working in partnership more
effectively and also seems to have strengthened ambition,
prioritisation and performance management."
It’s now up to the Council to provide the
evidence to the Audit Commission to prove that it has improved to
enable it to get the recognition that reflects the progress that
has been made in the last three years.
Ends