Release date: 09/12/2009

By: Wendy Phillips
Telephone 020 8871 8902 or email wphillips@wandsworth.gov.uk

Assessment rates council 'excellent'

 Wandsworth is an excellent council with some of the best services in the country and the UK’s lowest council tax, a performance assessment has shown.

The Audit Commission says improvements continue to be made in areas including education, housing, health, tackling crime, supporting older people and delivering high-quality, value for money services.

And it says that more than three quarters of Wandsworth people feel they receive fair treatment by local services – far more than in similar areas of the country.

Wandsworth also has the highest resident satisfaction rating at 75 per cent - compared to the London average of 49 per cent - and ranks highest in the country, at 70 per cent, for the number of residents who think the council promotes the interests of local people.

It also has the highest amount of people – 73 per cent – who say Wandsworth services offer good value for money, although this is not mentioned in the report.

Tight financial controls have enabled the council to save money and almost all services are of outstanding quality and provide excellent value for money. The council is well-led with a ‘can do’ mentality among staff.

The Audit Commission’s assessment of the council’s performance and value for money is fed into the Wandsworth Oneplace assessment. This new type of assessment is one of 152 covering all areas of England and judges how public services, including the council, police health services and others, work together across the area as a whole to achieve common aims.

The council is praised for its good partnership working, and for its clear and challenging goals to make the area an even better place to live while keeping spending under tight control. The report says the council and its partners on the Wandsworth Local Strategic Partnership understand the local community and its needs and ambitions.

Good progress has been made in improving the environment, building a vibrant and prosperous community, reducing health and employment inequality and tackling crime and anti-social behaviour. Wandsworth remains one of the safest boroughs in inner London and between 2008 and 2009 recorded crimes fell by nine per cent.

The council and its partners have received particular praise for their effective response to the recession, including a business rates hardship scheme and advice workshops for small businesses. There has also been a high level of support and protection for the borough’s five town centres, including the development of Town Centre Partnerships and the Tooting Together initiative.

Adult social care is judged as performing well and children’s services are excellent. Services for children in care are outstanding.

The council has put sustained and effective investment into its housing stock and 70 per cent of tenants are happy with the housing management service. Inspectors praised the innovative Hidden Homes scheme, which creates homes out of disused areas such as empty garages and laundry rooms, and plans to redevelop Nine Elms, which will bring significant investment into the area.

Levels of satisfaction with rubbish collection, recycling and street cleaning are above average and action is being taken to tackle climate change. Figures for adults talking part in sport and active recreation are the best in London.

However, smoking and teenage pregnancy figures are still too high, and the council and NHS Wandsworth are working together to tackle them.

Howard Simmons from Oneplace said: “Far more people are satisfied with Wandsworth as a place to live and work than similar areas of the country. Local services are working well together to tackle crime, deal with the needs of children and young people and improve health and older people’s services.

“There’s a strong ambition to improve the quality of life for residents in Wandsworth. Local services have responded well to the recession and very good work is going on to support the town centres and respond to housing needs.”

Wandsworth council leader Cllr Edward Lister said: “The council’s main aim has always been, and will continue to be, providing excellent services and delivering good value for money.

“However our concern is that these reports, which have been hugely expensive to produce, simply do not provide anything that adds value for our tax payers.

“What tax payers want to know is that their council is providing good services and value for money. They can judge this from how much they pay and their own experience of receiving services.

“These assessments would have more relevance for local people if they had a stronger focus on value for money. By attempting to cover too many areas of local life the reports stray too far from their original purpose. We need a simpler, smarter system that provides a more clinical analysis of councils' performance."

For the full report go to www.direct.gov.uk/oneplace.




ENDS

The council's website contains all current and past press releases dating back to February 2000

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I just moved to Wandsworth few months ago. It is really nice and convenient. The only problem I faced is schools. It is not easy at all to find a place. Every school I went to, told me the same thing 'unfortunatley we have long waiting lists'. It was the same answer for almost 10 schools. I was shocked. Even the guys in local authority they couldn't help. I think you should focus on this problem and tackle it as a high priority. I really loved the place but that was the only annoying thing.
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