FDC Best In Cambridgeshire says Audit Commission
Fenland District Council has been highly praised in a major new report from the Audit Commission.
The Commission and its partners have been working together to provide an independent and comprehensive overview of the quality of life across the UK to enable residents to discover how well local public organisations, such as councils, the NHS and police forces, work together to meet local needs.
The results of its Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) report have just been published on the new Oneplace website.
The Audit Commission says that Fenland District Council performs well and has achieved a high level of consistency across all assessment criteria to become the highest scoring council across Cambridgeshire.
The auditors particularly highlighted Fenland District Council as standing out for "tackling issues that local people recognise as priorities. In 2008/09 the Council has improved services to local people, particularly to those vulnerable people who need them most".
They state: "Fenland District Council performs well. The Council is tackling issues that local people recognise as priorities. These are: paying benefits quickly, tackling inequalities, recycling people's rubbish and making the area a clean place to live. Councillors and staff work well together, and the Council has saved money and used it to improve services. It manages its finances well."
They add: "The Council has ambitious plans to improve the lives of residents. Leadership is strong and staff are committed to delivering excellent services."
This assessment was carried out under the new tougher Use of Resources and Managing Performance criteria and the achievement of performing well status demonstrates that Fenland District Council exceeds requirements to deliver value for money
The Audit Commission stated Fenland District Council scored highly and this is because "financial reporting is strong, relevant and provided on time. Services continue to improve in line with priorities and perform better than most other councils. It has delivered £1.76 million of savings over the last three years. It has good workforce policies and practices in place. The workforce is highly qualified resulting in increased staff and customer satisfaction".
Organisational assessments examine performance and value for money in councils and health services police and fire and rescue services, and how well they are working with one another. The Oneplace reports on how all of these are providing value for money and using public funds. Each council is also provided with reports on how they are performing overall.
Fenland District Council strengthened its position to rank an amazing fifth in the country and achieved the highest score out of all public authorities in Cambridgeshire, including the County Council.
The leader of Fenland District Council Councillor Geoff Harper said: “This is a fantastic achievement and clearly demonstrates how far we have come as an authority in the last five years. It gives confidence to our residents that we are clearly focussed on addressing the issues that are important to them and recognises the strong leadership within the authority. I am proud to have been leader of Fenland District Council over this period.”
FDC Chief Executive, Tim Pilsbury commented: "I am so proud of the team at Fenland. This excellent assessment couldn’t have been achieved without the dedication and support of all the staff at Fenland who always give 100 per cent to improve things for the people of Fenland."