The Audit Commission announced recently that the County Council has been given four stars – the top rating – for its overall performance in 2008/09 in the ‘Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA)’. As part of that assessment the Council also received the highest rating for its ‘use of resources’ - which relates to such issues as financial management and value for money – for the second year in a row. Only 15% of councils achieved a similar level of performance.
Deputy Leader Tony Reid was delighted with the news. He said: “In this area of work, we’ve been given the top, four out of four rating two years in a row and been rated highly for many years. It’s good to get independent confirmation that we are managing our resources well and providing our local communities with value for money. However, we are not complacent, we know we have more to do and we are particularly conscious of the need to ensure we continue to be as efficient as possible."
The news was also warmly welcomed by Councillor David Tutt, Chairman of the Council’s Audit and Best Value Scrutiny Committee. He said: “Staff across the whole Council deserve praise for helping the authority to achieve top marks in this category. Everyone involved in the scrutiny committee process should also be thanked for their work – helping to ensure that every pound is spent wisely and that councillors and officers are challenged to provide evidence of good financial management and service delivery.”
The overall CPA report for East Sussex said that the County Council had been given top marks for its use of resources and environment services. Children’s Services were rated the best in the South East and scored the highest for any county council in the country and Adult Social Care services, which have improved significantly in the last year, were also praised.
For further information about the County Council’s performance and the CPA report please see our section on Improving the way we work.
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