Thursday, December 12, 2002

The Audit Commission today published tables of how local councils are performing. Calderdale was way down the list and its performance was described as "fair". This conclusion was reached by looking at how the council is run (2 out of 4) and how its main services perform. (3 out of 4)

Many of its services were rated 2 out of 4 including children's services, environment, housing, libraries and leisure.

With regard to housing, the commission states: "Staff are friendly and knowledgeable, and customers are seen quickly. However, only a limited amount of preventative work is carried out. The service has made some recent improvements but the lack of co-ordinated aims, objectives and action plans limits its capacity to deliver significant change. Poor quality temporary accommodation and housing benefit delays must also be tackled."

Other West Yorkshire councils managed much better. Kirklees was described as "excellent" while Leeds and Bradford were "good".

More info at Audit Commission website