News

Poole's Public Services Come Under New Spotlight

The first Comprehensive Area Assessment has been published and recognises that Poole's economy is strong and services for children and young people are good. There's less fear of crime than in many other areas and housing provision is exceptional.

The new Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) is an independent report on how well the council and its partners who make up Poole's Local Strategic Partnership are meeting the needs of residents in Poole. As well as Borough of Poole, Poole Partnership includes the police, the fire service and the NHS.

The CAA brings together the views of national watchdogs to give an overall picture of life in Poole. It gives residents an independent view of whether public services are effectively working together to identify and focus on what matters for where they live and assesses the progress made in tackling major local issues such as crime, affordable housing and people's health.

Green flags indicate exceptional performance and innovation that other public services could learn from and red flags signal significant areas of concern.

This first CAA of Poole awards a green flag for Poole's housing and advises that 'Poole has done exceptionally well to meet its high housing need.  It is one of the very few councils that has managed to meet government targets for house building in recent years and it has done this in areas that would have remained run down'.

There were no red flags for any local services.

Richard Dimbleby, Chair of Poole Partnership, said: "This new Comprehensive Area Assessment process has reviewed the performance and achievements of all the public services in Poole as well as the overall performance of Poole Partnership.  We are delighted that this report is very complimentary about how Poole Partnership is improving services for people in Poole and also indicates ways in which we can improve even further on how we meet the needs of everyone in Poole in the future."

According to the assessment, Poole's economy is strong and partners are supporting businesses and vulnerable and unemployed people affected by the recession. 

The Audit Commission said the council has worked hard to keep Poole's Twin Sails Bridge project on track and it is an important part of plans to improve the Hamworthy area and provide more houses and jobs for the town.

Services for children and young people in Poole were found to be good with many children in the borough doing well at school and there is a good understanding of the needs of older people in the town.

Poole is a safe area and fear of crime is lower than elsewhere in the country and the South West.  The police and partners are tackling violence in the home well and victims are well supported

Alongside the area assessment, the Audit Commission has published an organisational assessment for the council, focusing on performance and value for money.

The Commission said the council is having some success in tackling climate change, increasing recycling and reducing waste going to landfill. The borough is clean and tidy and among the best performing in the country for use of libraries, enjoying the arts and visits to museums and galleries.

The council received an adequate rating from the Care Quality Commission for social care services for adults in the borough. Most services are good but weaknesses were identified in arrangements for keeping safe adults at risk of ill treatment or neglect. However, the council has sought to address the problems identified and continued to improve services for older people.

Overall, the Commission said the council is performing well and addressing the issues that local people think are important.  As well as being a lead partner in the achievements recognised in the Area Assessment, the Commission also said the council provides good services at lower costs than many other councils and is spending money in the right areas to deliver priorities. The council recognises it can do more to look at service costs and quality together to achieve the best value for money possible.

Cllr Brian Leverett, Leader of the Council, said: "It is satisfying to learn that a range of respected government bodies have recognised that overall Poole is performing well. Our aim remains to continually improve our services and provide even better value for money for our residents."

The easy-to-use Oneplace website brings together the results of the new CAA.