New Report Says Council is Performing Well

Rutland County Council is being highlighted as one of the top performers (3 out of 4 for performance) in the country in a report published today.

The new report, known as Oneplace aims to provide an independent overview of local public services across the Country and reports that the Council is “progressing well against all of its priorities and making a good contribution to the quality of life of its residents”.

Most Rutland County Council services are performing at levels above the national average, with the Council scoring 3 out of 4 for performance and making huge improvements on previously weaker services such as recycling and housing services. The Council has scored 2 out of 4 for the strengthened use of resources category, largely due to the timing of the implementation of recognised improvements. Rutland continued to score highly on value for money.

The Council has also been praised for the County’s schools and is recognised for the number of pupils passing GCSE examinations, which is much higher than the national average.

The report also highlights that the Council is good at ensuring that the community stays safe and healthy, confirming that public services work well together in Rutland. A good example of which is the improvement in waste and recycling collection, which is also recognised in the report, with the Council being praised for being one of the best councils in the country for its collection services.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Roger Begy said: “This is great news for the Council and shows that we are doing our very best to ensure that Rutland Council Tax payers get a good service from their local council. Oneplace highlights that we have improved in a number of areas, not least by working with local businesses during the recession by meeting them regularly and holding local events, including the ‘recession summit’. It is pleasing that the report notes this and recognises the work that we have done recently to address current economic issues, as well as working to improve other services”.

Cllr Begy added, “We have made much progress in the last 12 months and will continue to work on improving access to services for residents who are in remote areas, as well as larger scale projects such as the Big Build. We will be working hard on the areas for improvement identified and in particular ensuring that we continue to score well on value for money services.”

Area Assessment

There are two parts to the new Oneplace report – an Organisational Assessment (explained above), which grades local authorities throughout the Country and an Area Assessment, which looks at each area as a whole and assesses how well public services in that area work together, for example how the Council, NHS, Police and Fire Service all work together in Rutland for the benefit of the community.

These assessments combine the views of six independent inspectorates who create a snapshot of the local area by looking at how important local issues, such as crime, affordable housing and people’s health, are being tackled and how they can be improved. In Rutland the area assessment praises the standard of a number of Rutland’s services including services for children and young people, stating that children and young people are kept safe and do well at school, including getting good examination results above the national average. Schools in the area are also congratulated for being good at developing skills to prepare young people for life after school and helping more children gain fit and healthy lifestyles.

Rutland’s area assessment also highlights how people in Rutland get on well together, with almost one in three people acting as a volunteer in some way such as helping run local groups.

As an area crime rates are low and people mostly feel safe, with public services successfully dealing with antisocial behaviour in Rutland. Inspector Johnny Monks for Oakham commenting on the report said: “It is pleasing that Rutland is recognised as a safe and friendly place to live, visit and work. We have worked with the Rutland Safer Partnership over the past year to ensure that crime in Rutland is reduced and that residents feel safe by introducing initiatives such as the Halloween and bonfire night campaigns. We will now continue to work together to provide the best possible service for Rutland.”

The report also shows that Rutland is a very healthy place to live and that people in Rutland live longer and are less likely to die early from major diseases like heart disease or suffer from long term illness or disability. Smoking, obesity and other common issues that cause ill health are starting to be tackled by public services working together.

Dr Peter Marks, director of public health at NHS Leicestershire County and Rutland, said: “The Oneplace report shows how important working in partnership is in delivering services which support a healthier Rutland. We are continually looking at ways to make Leicestershire and Rutland the healthiest place in the UK and we are working closely with Rutland County Council and other local partners to achieve this.”

The Council was also recognised for providing a broader range of services so that older and disabled people really have a choice in and control over the way they get support.

More details regarding assessments can be found on the Oneplace website – www.directgov.gov.uk/oneplace