ITEM CA10
CABINET – 20 MAY 2008
CORPORATE ASSESSMENT UPDATE AND ACTION PLAN
Report by County Council Management Team
Introduction
1. The Council underwent a Corporate Assessment and Joint Area Review in December 2007 as part of the Audit Commission's Comprehensive Performance Assessment process. We received a detailed report from the Audit Commission on 22 April 2008.
Background
2. The Corporate Assessment is designed to assess how well the Council engages with and leads its communities, delivers community priorities in partnership with others, and ensures continuous improvement across the range of Council activities. The Joint Area Review evaluates how local services work together to contribute to the achievement, progress and well-being of children and young people.
Our Performance
3. Our performance is assessed in relation to three headline questions which are underpinned by five themes which are scored. The Joint Area Review contributes to our score for the 'achievement' theme. A set of rules are then applied to determine our overall score. Our scores are shown in table 1 below. A key to the scores is shown in table 2 and a description of the scoring criteria is shown in table 3.
Table 1: Summary of assessment scores
Table 2: Key to scores*
Table 3: Rules for determining the overall corporate assessment score**
Key Messages
4. The assessment report is very positive and we have maintained the score of '3' achieved in the last Corporate Assessment in 2004 despite the new methodology representing 'a harder test'.
5. The report said:
“The council is ambitious and with partners has a clear and distinctive long-term vision for the area. It works effectively with local partners and extensive engagement with local people means the council’s ambitions are based on local need.
“The council is ambitious for itself as well as the local community it serves. It has clear plans and strategies to support delivery of its ambitions. The council is prepared to take and stick to difficult decisions that flow from its stated priorities.
“Officers and councillors are clear about their roles and decision making is effective. Robust mechanisms are in place to deliver the improvement the council expects in its own performance and with partners. Performance management is well embedded in the systems and culture of the council.
“Good progress is being made in achieving the council’s priorities for better public services. It operates from a strong financial platform and has an embedded approach to securing value for money.”
6. The report also acknowledges the rapid improvement journey we have undergone over the past five years and our strong and effective leadership.
7. As part of the assessment process, the Audit Commission have identified a small number of areas for improvement. They are listed at annex A (download as .doc file)together with the action we have and plan to take in response.
RECOMMENDATION
8. The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to note the report.
JOANNA SIMONS Chief Executive
Background papers:
Contact Officer: Paul Edwards, Corporate Performance Manager Tel: 01865 815307
May 2008
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