Council spin machine in overdrive as the council loses a star!

Date published: 07 February 2008

The Audit Commission has revealed that Rochdale Council is amongst the worst performing councils and as a result has lost a star - and is now just a two star council!

In sadly typical fashion the Council spin machine has gone into overdrive and issued a news release and published on the council web site what can only be described as propaganda.

The article says: "We are already moving ahead with improvement plans following today's announcement by the Audit Commission that they have rated us as a 2-star council.

"Inspectors from the body tasked with judging the performance of all local authorities concluded that our Adult Care Service requires significant improvements, and as a result our overall rating has fallen - although other priority areas are getting better. The CPA rating is the key benchmark against which councils are measured, but despite a fall from 3 stars in 2007, Chief Executive Roger Ellis insists there is a good deal to be positive about:

"It is very disappointing, but we have been expecting this announcement for some time now and robust improvement plans to address the areas of concern are well underway ... what we are doing now is moving forward, and we are all behind the drive to re-claim our three star status next year."

(See the foot of this article for the rest of the Council news release).

The reality is that the figures show Rochdale council is one of just 14 councils across the country to see their rating drop for 2007 and no amount of spin can hide that.

Conservative Group Leader on Rochdale Council, Ashley Dearnley says: "The secrecy continues - once again myself and Labour Group Leader, Allen Brett have not been briefed in advance of the audit report, the first I knew about it was reading the Council's press release. The secrecy in which the Lib Dems indulge is damaging and insulting to the rest of the Council and most importantly to the public of Rochdale.

"However, it comes as no surprise to me that the Council's rating has gone down, after a year of Lib Dem control. There is no clear, decisive or open leadership, even Councillor Hobhouse admits in an entry in his Rochdale Online diary that the leadership is 'patchy'. The Lib Dems are far too busy creating unnecessary frivolous policies, for example, the 'empire' being created to deal with complaints from the public. This needs to stop. The Lib Dems would do far better to concentrate on what the public wants and get to grips with the core functions of the Council, only then can we expect improve the ratings.

"I take no pleasure in raising this issue, it is sad that Lib Dem Rochdale is now in the bottom 20% of Councils in the country.

A spokesperson for the Audit Commission explained that the results of the assessment showed the majority of councils are delivering a high level of services to local people, with four out of five offering a three or four star standard.

Rochdale’s Labour Parliamentary Candidate, Simon Danczuk, added that it was frustrating that no sooner had Rochdale’s disappointing results been announced, a council press release was promptly issued, claiming "we are already moving ahead with improvement plans following today’s announcement by the Audit Commission that they have rated us a two star council".

"It is getting a bit tiresome hearing of the council’s improvement plans every time a critical report reveals their failings," he said. "This is yet another milestone of mediocrity that shows the Lib Dems do not have the energy, ideas or ability to deliver the services they promise to residents in Rochdale.

"Rather than being "ready to move forward’, Rochdale under the Lib Dems is treading water. For the Lib Dem leader to brand a report that shows the council to be floundering as "encouraging" beggars belief."

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The rest of the Council news release

Government inspectors acknowledged continuing progress being made in services for children and young people, with educational attainment rising, local targets being exceeded and improving outcomes for minority ethnic children.

Good progress was also recognised in improving community safety with effective partnership working contributing to falling crime levels. There was also encouraging progress in regenerating the borough, with local town centres improving, job creation and rising local prosperity. Value for money is steadily improving, and work continues to build capacity in terms of better managing performance, resolving staffing gaps and better asset management.

Roger Ellis added: "Future plans are now strengthened and aligned with partners, reflecting what really matters to local people. However we still need to bridge the gap between resident’s perceptions and users’ experiences of services."

Council Leader Alan Taylor said he supports the CPA as a driver for change and service improvement: "We’re committed to the principles of continuous improvement and rising standards," he said. "Across our services, we are being recognised for the improvements made, but we also understand that there is a good deal of work to be done. In our Adult Care service, for example, we’ve already put in place an action and improvement plan to tackle several weak areas highlighted. The aim of that is to modernise our services and deliver better outcomes to vulnerable people and their carers and families."

Councillor Taylor added: "The CPA acknowledges that Rochdale Borough Council is improving its performance in many priority areas and that is encouraging. This recognises not only the council's work but also the effective partnership working that has been successful in improving the quality of life in the borough."

2009 will be the last time Rochdale Borough Council receives a CPA rating, before the system is replaced with a new performance indicator in 2010.