News Release
Maidstone Borough Council rated as one of
the top 20 in England
Maidstone Borough Council is one of the
top councils in the country according to the latest reports
from the Audit Commission. The 2009 Organisational Assessment says
that the council performs well, scoring a maximum 4 out of 4
on Managing Performance and 3 out of 4 on the Use of
Resources element. Only 18 out of the 343 councils in
England assessed in 2008-09 scored the same or better.
Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, Cllr
Richard Ash, said: “This is a positive result, showing that the
council continues to deliver and improve services and provide value
for money and outcomes for local people.
“The report highlights that the council has
good prospects for further improvement and the overall result
places Maidstone as one of the top performing authorities
in England and also within Kent - which is a great result
for the council and recognises the services provided to people
in Maidstone.”
The report said that Maidstone Borough Council
is making good progress against all its priorities with excellent
outcomes in some areas, for example in the supply of affordable
homes. The number of homes significantly exceeded the targets set,
despite the challenging conditions of the housing market.
The report compliments the council on the way
it works well with other organisations such the County Council,
Police and Health Services to do things that are important to local
people, but that it cannot tackle on its own.
The Audit Commission also
recognises that the council has a strong focus on helping
local people to beat the recession.
The Commission comments that "It has worked
hard to understand the problems of local businesses and to support
them, for example by the ‘Make it Maidstone' campaign. At the same
time it has continued to provide good support to vulnerable people
needing help, for example people who are homeless or requiring
benefits."
The report also acknowledges the way that
the Maidstone Gateway is transforming how people can access local
public services more easily. The innovative one stop shop which is
located in Maidstone Town Centre brings most local public services
and numerous voluntary and community organisations under one roof.
This is giving local people a much wider range of advice and
support and is proving popular.
The Audit Commission report says that the
council has good contact with vulnerable groups and it is involved
in a variety of partnership programmes to address their needs, for
example actions on health inequalities.
See the full report
Date:
December 16, 2009
Ref:
KS/091214