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Comprehensive Performance Assessment 2005
Sheffield City Council has again received the ‘highest’ rating by the Audit Commission, the Government watchdog for Local Government. The Council have been awarded ‘4 star’ status under the Audit Commission’s Comprehensive Performance Assessment and is a council that is "improving well".
Every year, a Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) is carried out to measure how well councils are delivering services for local people and communities. This year’s assessment has changed and has been termed ‘The Harder Test’ as more emphasis has been placed on outcomes for local people and value for money. In previous years, services have been rated as poor, weak, fair, good or excellent.
This year, ‘the harder test’ rating uses a star system from 0 stars - 4 stars and indicates a direction of travel score.
In 2004, Sheffield City Council were rated as ‘Excellent’ - the highest rating. And this year we have shown that continuous improvement is at the top of our agenda with our ‘4 star’ status.
The Community Care Team have made a strong contribution to the overall score . One Support Worker who has worked for the Council for 9 years and said: "We’ve seen some real changes recently within Community Care. The job is now much more focussed on the person and not the task. We help people to help themselves according to their needs and wishes, which is what rehabilitation and home care is all about".
A Home Carer who has worked for the Council for over 7 years said: "There is a strong sense of pride amongst our staff. Winning Council of the Year and now being rated as a 4 star council is real proof that everyone’s continued hard work is paying off".
The Council’s ‘Benefits’ service also received the maximum score. Claim processing times are now well below the targets set by the Government.
Some areas for improvement were identified including educational attainment and some aspects of environment work.
Commenting on the CPA rating, Leader of Sheffield City Council, Cllr Jan Wilson said: "We know Sheffield is a city on the up, and I am pleased that the Council is contributing to this. We will continue to listen to what people tell us, and continue to strive for better services"
Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council Bob Kerslake, said: "There have been rapid and sustained improvements to Council services, resulting in the highest rating of ‘4 Stars’ by the Audit Commission. The harder test means that we not only maintain our excellent reputation but are amongst fewer local authorities with the highest rating. This is a real success story for the city of Sheffield. However, we are aware that we still have areas for improvement and we continue to strive for excellence in all services".
Downloads
A summary of the Audit Commission's Comprehensive Performance Assessment scoresheet 2005, this shows how the overall score was reached by providing the scores for every service area
(141 KB)
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