West London councils slam costly inspection
Monday December 7, 2009
Two high performing, low tax, councils have slammed the Audit Commission’s new assessment regime, which they say has proved costly and ineffective.
The west London boroughs of Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) and Wandsworth say endless hours have been wasted serving the commission’s new Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA).
Last year a huge amount of management time – equivalent to £200,000 per authority was spent on providing the Audit Commission with information. In addition, the Commission had the nerve to charge each council more than £100,000 for ‘inspection costs’. In future, H&F Council has now vowed to cap the amount of staff time spent on the CAA at £50,000.
Both councils are among the highest performers in the country and are expected to achieve the top ranking possible for the quality of their services under the new CAA system.
Wandsworth has the lowest council tax in Britain and H&F Council’s plans to cut council tax by 3% for a fourth year in a row are generating some of the highest residents’ approval ratings in the UK. Figures from the Annual Residents’ Survey 2008 show that compared to the 2006 survey, overall resident satisfaction is up 6 per cent, to 59 per cent – the biggest increase in the country.
The two elite councils say the costly and bureaucratic nature of complying with Audit Commission demands is not a good use of taxpayers’ money in an age when budgets are being squeezed. They argue that the oppressive and pointless CAA regime hinders councils’ ability to deliver leaner and better quality services.
Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, H&F Council Leader, says: “Who cares what some Audit Commission bureaucrat sat in their ivory tower thinks of services in Hammersmith & Fulham? In all my years as council Leader I can count on one hand the number of times I have been asked what rating the Audit Commission gives the council.
“What is vitally important is how local people judge the services they pay for and use and in H&F residents’ satisfaction is up to an all-time high. I am a passionate localist and all councils need to be cut free from the centralised bureaucracy and inefficiency of the gargantuan inspection industry if we are going to be able to deliver even better services at a lower cost for taxpayers.”
The councils say a mix of simple performance indicators and costs data – supported by customer satisfaction scores – provide a more objective guide to service quality and value for money.
The Audit Commission will publish CAA findings for all councils on Wednesday (December 9). Both H&F’s and Wandsworth’s assessments, which includes local police, health and fire services, are expected to result in highly positive outcomes – praising the councils for their strong partnership working and top quality, value for money, services.
H&F Council has taken out more than £42 million worth of waste and bureaucracy over the past three years. The council has reduced its debt mountain by £24 million saving taxpayers more than £2.9 million a year in reduced debt repayments.
At the same time the council is prioritising front line services that matter most to residents including: some of the best and most improved secondary schools in England; 93 per cent of streets are cleaner than national standards; H&F parks are among the best in the UK with £8 million spent on improving open spaces officially recognised with 3 Green Flags; A new £2 million flagship library for London was opened at Shepherds Bush at virtually no cost to the taxpayer. The first new library for 40 years; H&F is putting more bobbies on the beat by contributing to £4million over two years for extra town centre police; Waste and recycling is still collected weekly and on the same day; 800 vulnerable people continue to receive social care who otherwise would not be eligible in most other local authorities.
The National Audit Office estimates that the overall cost of monitoring local government is a mind-boggling £2 billion a year.
