Thursday 5 March 2009

Hounslow gets four stars

From the London Borough of Hounslow website:

"The London Borough of Hounslow has received the highest rating possible for its performance from a government watchdog.

"The council received the top “four star” rating in the Audit Commission’s annual Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), and was found to be “improving well.”

"Hounslow has moved up from its previous three star rating thanks to high performance for adult social care and improvements to leisure and environmental services. The Audit Commission also noted improvements in school results, the amount of social housing provided and rates of youth crime.

"Cllr Peter Thompson, leader of the council, said: 'To get the highest possible rating is a fantastic achievement for everyone who works at the council, and I’d like to congratulate them for their hard work.

"'But this won’t make us complacent as we know local people want us to do better in some areas that are important to them.

"'That is why we’ve made 10 promises to local residents to make the borough a place where people are proud to live - from keeping the council tax down, to cutting the amount of graffiti on the borough’s streets.

"'These are things local people have told us will make a difference to their quality of life, and that, at the end of the day, is what we are here to do.'

"The Audit Commission found financial standing and value for money were both good at the council.

"The council has successfully bid for significant sums to improve the borough’s streetscene and rebuild schools. The innovative performance improvement programme, which is about service transformation, has identified savings of £53 million over three years to plough back into priority services."

I should add that much of the credit for this excellent result must also go to my ICG colleagues Councillor Paul Fisher and Councillor Dr. Genevieve Hibbs, respectively the current Lead Member and the former Lead Member for Service Improvement.

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