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CPA Inspection Report - NHDC Summary
North Hertfordshire District Council is improving according to an official report by the Audit Commission. The report, which follows an inspection of the council earlier this year, found the council to be fair and making progress.
The Audit Commission defines a fair council as one that provides reasonable services overall but needs to deliver significant improvements to ensure that local people benefit from more consistent and reliable delivery.
North Hertfordshire District Council was one of ten councils across Hertfordshire to be inspected as part of the comprehensive performance assessment (CPA) of district and borough councils, which rates each council as either poor, weak, fair, good or excellent.
CPA inspectors spent a week at the council offices in January 2004 meeting with councillors, officers, partner organisations, resident groups and businesses and also observing the day-to-day running of the council. From this on-site assessment, the inspectors found North Hertfordshire District Council to be doing very well in a number of areas, including:
- Protecting the natural and built environment of the district - This is a priority for both the council and community, and the council has invested a lot of time and effort in achieving this.
- Effective partnership working - The council is committed to working in partnership with other councils, the police, health authorities and the voluntary sector, and has taken a lead role in the development of a Community Strategy for North Hertfordshire.
- Investing in services - The council is investing a lot of resources in addressing the gaps that currently exist in service provision and establishing the building blocks that will ensure the future improvement of the services it provides to residents.
- Consulting with the public - The council has demonstrated a clear commitment to public consultation and community engagement in identifying the needs of individual communities within the district.
However, the inspection also identified a number of areas where improvements need to be made:
- The council's vision - The council does not have a clear long-term vision for the area and needs to define and state a clear ambition for the council that will direct services according to specific local needs.
- Future plans - Although the council has demonstrated good public engagement in the development of future plans, these plans do not adequately identify how the council will address the identified priorities of local people.
- Priorities - The council's priorities are broad and numerous and would benefit from a more robust framework to co-ordinate and prioritise key objectives.
John Campbell, chief executive of North Hertfordshire District Council said: "There is a range of possible scores in the fair category from 36 to 41. We scored 41, which is very encouraging. We are pleased that the CPA inspectors have acknowledged the ambition and improving trend within North Hertfordshire District Council whist recognising, as we do, that there are areas the council needs to improve. Our task now is to build on the progress we have made and to continue to improve the services we provide for the people of North Hertfordshire."
