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28 Apr 08Poole Is Performing Well
Borough of Poole is performing well, according to a new report by the Audit Commission 
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The independent Commission , which is responsible for ensuring that public money is spent well, found the Council and its partners to have a good understanding of local needs gained through good research and consultation.
The Commission’s corporate assessment team said the Council is using this understanding to develop a high-level vision for the borough. The vision emphasises the importance of creating a vibrant community in which people follow healthy lifestyles, feel included and contribute positively to the environment and their communities.
Borough of Poole’s corporate objectives support the vision and outlines the role the Council will play to achieve it. The Council reviews its priorities annually to ensure that they continue to reflect local need and makes sure that actions to meet its priorities are properly resourced.
The Commission’s assessment team highlighted a number of the Council’s strengths. These included:
- good community leadership, promoting the borough's interests at national, regional and sub regional level.
- good value for money by working well with partners and by securing external funding to support projects and services in the borough. Consequently the quality of the Council's services compares favourably with other councils and costs are relatively low.
- land use policies helping to improve the availability of affordable housing and create jobs for local people while protecting natural heath land and the harbour.
- working well with the police to reduce levels of crime and the fear of crime over the last three years.
- health outcomes above the national average with the Council and its partners focussing efforts on the most deprived wards and improving the health of children and young people.
- children and young people in Poole achieve good levels of education and the number of young people not in employment, education or training is low.
The Audit Commission has already recognised Borough of Poole as one of the top performing councils in the country.
The Council achieved the Commission’s top ‘four star’ rating in its annual Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) of local authorities in England published in February.
Cllr Brian Leverett, Leader of the Council, said: “We are delighted that the hard work of staff and the commitment to provide high quality services for residents has again been recognised by the Audit Commission. However, we are not complacent and will continue to improve and work hard on the recommendations of the Commission’s report.”
Audit Commission senior manager Philip Suter said: “Borough of Poole continues to work hard to meet the needs of residents. It is well managed and staff work hard to deliver good services – particularly in important areas such as providing affordable housing, waste management and economic development.
“It is also working well with the police and the primary care trust to make sure that Poole continues to be a safe and healthy place to live. The Council is not complacent and plans to improve governance arrangements, performance management and the way it engages with minority groups.”
The Council has identified ten important improvement projects, including a proposal to extend its customer contact centre, improving the way it recruits and retains staff and a more consistent approach to risk management.
It is also reviewing its governance arrangements to clarify how councillors not on the Cabinet can influence policy. It is also working to make sure that performance management processes are consistently good across all services so that poor performance can be tackled and good performance celebrated.
Copies of the report are available from the Audit Commission website
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