Cumbria County Council has retained its two-star status and has been judged to be improving its performance across services generally and in priority areas, according to the annual Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) conducted by the Audit Commission.
The Audit Commission also judged that the county council is set to get better in the future by giving a direction of travel judgement of 'Improving Adequately'. In its direction of travel judgement the Audit Commission said: "Future plans for services are ambitious. There are good prospects for delivering improvements in their overall quality compared to other parts of the country."
Cllr Tim Stoddard, Leader of Cumbria County Council, said:
"The county council is getting better every year, but we've had to start towards the back of the grid in the performance leagues, so we need to accelerate our improvements even faster and work with our partners in the county so that we can overtake other areas and move up the star ratings. We've improved from being a one-star council to a two-star one last year and now we have the structure in place to really drive performance. It was nevertheless disappointing not to have added another star this year as that was what we were aiming for. But it's pleasing to note that many of the things that really matter to the people of Cumbria - such as how good we are at making efficiencies - were areas that the Audit Commission praised us for."
Peter Stybelski, Chief Executive of Cumbria County Council, said:
"We're in a period of major change both in the county council and in the way all public sector organisations work in Cumbria. We are increasingly being judged not only on how we perform as an organisation but on how well all public sector organisations work together to deliver services and achieve the best outcomes for Cumbrians. There will be fewer performance indicators and a greater focus on making a real difference in communities. We welcome this change and the county council has just agreed a new corporate structure, a new partnership approach and a new vigour to really drive performance. There is still much to be done in improving our performance and we need to increase our pace of improvement to catch up with the best performing county councils. But our employees are committed and up for the challenge ahead."
The county council's overall CPA score of 2 is made up of the Corporate Assessment plus a number of Level 1 and Level 2 assessments (see notes for editors). The Audit Commission has already revealed its scores for Use of Resources, Level 1 Services and Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service.
These were as follows:
Corporate Assessment (assessed every three years and last assessed in 2006): Score of 2 Level 1 - Use of Resources: Score of 2 Level 1 - Children's Services: Score of 3 (capacity to improve outcomes for children and young people classed as 'good') Level 1 - Adult Social Care: Score of 2 (prospects for improvement classed as 'promising') Level 2 - Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service: Score of 4 (direction of travel ‘improving well’ and use of resources ‘consistently above minimum requirements’)
Today's overall CPA assessment can reveal for the first time the new scores for the Culture and Environment Level 2 services. These are as follows:
Culture: Score of 3
Environment: Score of 3
Culture: Score = 3
The Audit Commission has given the county council a score of 3 out 4 in how it delivers its culture services, which include libraries and leisure. This means it is 'Performing well - consistently above minimum requirements' .
The performance indicators below are classed in three categories. 'Above the upper threshold' means a comparatively high performance and 'Below the lower threshold' means a comparatively low performance.
Above the upper threshold:
Public library service standards on access
Public library service standards on ICT provision
Active borrowers as a percentage of population
Public library service standards on satisfaction - assessment of users 16 and over
Percentage of 5 to 16 year olds in school sports partnerships engaged in two hours a week minimum on high quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum
Between the thresholds:
Percentage of footpaths and rights of way easy to use by public
Resident satisfaction with libraries
Cost per visit (libraries)
Below the lower threshold:
Public library service standards on stock
Cllr Gary Strong, Cabinet member responsible for community development and safety, said:
"The people of Cumbria get an excellent service from their libraries and I'm delighted that we continue to have a higher than average number of active library borrowers compared with other areas of the country. We also have excellent prospects for improvement next year. The only blip in our performance was a temporary drop in stock levels - but this has already been rectified by a decision taken in November to invest an extra £100,000 on 17,000 new books. This means that we should achieve a score of four out of four next year. Our work with voluntary organisations has also been recognised, as has the valuable efforts in promoting culture and leisure to young people, which includes an energetic sports programme for 5-16 year olds in and around schools."
Environment: Score = 3
The Audit Commission has given the county council a score of 3 out 4 in how it delivers its environmental services, which include transport, planning and waste. This means it is 'Performing well - consistently above minimum requirements'.
The performance indicators below are classed in three categories. 'Above the upper threshold' means a comparatively high performance and 'Below the lower threshold' means a comparatively low performance.
Above the upper threshold:
Recycling and composting performance
Satisfaction with passenger transport information
Trading standards checklist of best practice
Consumer satisfaction with trading standards service
Business satisfaction with trading standards service
Trading standards levels of business compliance High/Medium/low risk premises
Between the thresholds:
Progress with LTP
Satisfaction with waste disposal (civic amenity sites)
Trading standards visits to high-risk premises
Condition of surface footway
Condition of unclassified roads
Reducing killed and seriously injured (KSI) road casualties
Satisfaction with bus services
Percentage of pedestrian crossings with facilities for disabled people
Intervention by the Secretary of State under Traffic Management Act powers
Reducing slightly injured road casualties
Below the lower threshold:
Number of kilograms household waste collected per head
Cllr Ian Stewart, cabinet member responsible for environmental wellbeing, said:
"The amount of waste Cumbrians recycle or compost continues to go up, and we're on target for even greater improvements this year. We're also seeing significant reductions in the amount of waste collected per head, which means we're on track to achieve a top score of four out four in this category next year. The work done to reduce the number of people killed or seriously injured on our roads is also paying dividends, with the number of serious road accidents consistently dropping year on year - although there are still too many people killed on our roads."
Performance and the council plan
In this year's overall CPA assessment, the Audit Commission singled out a number of areas where the council has performed strongly. Highlights within the council's six key objectives in the Council Plan - Building Pride in Cumbria, include:
- Creating safe and secure communities:
In January 2008 Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service was given a score of four out of four by the Audit Commission and judged to be ‘improving well’ in its direction of travel while its use of resources was judged as ‘consistently above minimum requirements’. 70% of performance indicators in Cumbria Fire & Rescue are improving and many of them now comparable to the very best councils. The Audit Commission's report highlighted the county's success in a number of key areas, such as the specialist fire prevention advice it delivers to older people, and firefighters' work with other agencies to reduce arson and anti-social behaviour. Crime levels in Cumbria were noted to be low and the Audit Commission noted that communities are seeing further improvements through well organised preventative action. A comparitively high number of residents in the county feel safe both during the day and after dark. The council was noted for its work in tackling youth-related disorder. The number of children permanently excluded from school for negative behaviour in 2006/7 fell.
- Making Cumbria more prosperous:
The Audit Commission noted: "Improvements in the economy are beginning to be seen, with increased job creation." This is backed up by the fact Cumbria’s economy has the second fastest growth rate of any in the North West and the eighth fastest in the UK. Unemployment claimant rates have fallen and the Cumbria Economic Plan identifies strategic priorities, including the need to develop the county's skills base.
- Improving the life chances and well-being of children and young people:
In November 2007 Ofsted announced that the APA (Annual Performance Assessment) score for services for children and young people increased from 2 to 3 (out of a possible 4). Ofsted judged that the council has "good capacity to improve further" and noted particular improvements in the Staying Safe and Economic Well-being categories. The number of looked after children has reduced due to increased support for families; the number of younger adults not in education, employment or training is low; the range of preventative services has increased; the quality of education in primary school is good and continually improving. Performance in children's services has moved from a score of zero to three in just three years.
- Improving the health and well-being of adults:
Cumbria County Council's Adult Social Care directorate achieved the distinction of being the 9th most improved of any council in the country on the Audit Commission's performance indicators. It leapfrogged 51 other councils in the performance rankings, but nevertheless was re-awarded a one star rating (out of a possible three and contributing a score of two to this CPA assessment) in the annual assessment carried out by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) in November 2007. CSCI said prospects for further improvement were 'promising'. The Audit Commission has also noted: "The council is developing, with its partners, a strategic approach to improving health and reducing inequalities."
- Creating and protecting a high quality environment for all:
Significant progress has been made in recycling and composting rates as well as reducing the amount of waste produced per head of population. Details in this area have already been outlined under the Environment category.
- Improving Council services:
Between 2005/6 and 2006/7 63% of the council's local BVPIs (Best Value Performance Indicators) improved - meaning Cumbria County Council has steadily improved on its performance targets over the last three years. The Audit Commission said the council has been effective in achieving efficiency improvements and has below average central overhead costs. It has set a target of being the first county council to achieve Level 5 of the Equalities Standard and the Audit Commission noted that equality is being mainstreamed into service plans. It also noted that the council has achieved re-accreditation of the Investors in People standard and was commended for its commitment to people development.
End
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Notes
How does CPA Work?
Comprehensive Performance Assessment, or CPA, was introduced for single tier and county councils in 2002. The first results for all 150 single tier and county councils were published in December 2002. Between June 2003 and December 2004 the Commission completed assessments of all 238 district councils. The essence of a CPA framework is that it draws on a range of information such as performance indicators, assessments of corporate capacity, audit and inspection reports, and stakeholder opinions to reach a single judgement about the performance of a local body.
As previously outlined, Cumbria has scored two stars in the latest CPA assessment, repeating the score achieved last year. Here are the official Audit Commission classifications for each of the star ratings:
0 star: (There are no 0-star authorities in this year's CPA)
1 star: Below minimum requirements - inadequate performance
2 stars: At only minimum requirements - adequate performance
3 stars: Consistently above minimum requirements - performing well
4 stars: Well above minimum requirements - performing strongly
The following diagram explains how various elements contribute to the overall CPA star rating:
What does 'Direction of Travel' mean?
As well as the overall star rating, all authorities are given a direction of travel rating by the Audit Commission. Cumbria County Council has been assessed as 'Improving Adequately' out of the following 5 possible scores:
Score of 0 - (There are no 0-star directions of travel in this year's CPA) Score of 1 - Not improving adequately or Not improving Score of 2 - Improving adequately Score of 3 - Improving well Score of 4 - Improving strongly
Follow this link to view the CPA partner briefing 2007 - Final