- New CPA rating unveiled
- Top marks in new assessments for Culture and Fire & Rescue
- Environmental services increase score from 1 to 3
Cumbria County Council has improved its annual star rating awarded by the Audit Commission. The council has been named a two-star authority following a Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) for 2006. Previously the county council was a one-star authority on a scale of 0 to 4.
The Audit Commission also gives a ‘Direction of Travel’ classification to all councils; Cumbria County Council has been classified as ‘Improving well’, which is the second highest of 5 possible classifications.
The Audit Commission has also revealed new CPA scores for Environment, Culture and Fire & Rescue, which contribute to the overall star rating of the county council. Both Culture and Fire & Rescue achieved the highest possible score of 4, with Environment also performing well with a score of 3.
"There are two reasons why we should be pleased with our result this year: we have improved our score even though the test is much harder; and there are clear prospects that this improvement will continue. The Audit Commission has recognised the hard work that has gone into making this organisation more efficient and effective. That improvement agenda will continue - we have set ourselves tough new targets to ensure that the county council continues to get better," said Cllr Tim Stoddard, Leader of Cumbria County Council.
"Scoring two stars is a significant improvement and starts to close the gap on other councils. The most encouraging element of this assessment is not that the Audit Commission have increased our star rating, it is that our direction of travel shows we are continuing to improve. We are building momentum and the desire to deliver the best possible services to the people of Cumbria is becoming engrained in every part of the organisation," said Peter Stybelski, Chief Executive of Cumbria County Council.
How does CPA Work?
Comprehensive Performance Assessment, or CPA, was introduced for single tier and county councils in 2002. The first results for all 150 single tier and county councils were published in December 2002. Between June 2003 and December 2004 the Commission completed assessments of all 238 district councils. The essence of a CPA framework is that it draws on a range of information such as performance indicators, assessments of corporate capacity, audit and inspection reports, and stakeholder opinions to reach a single judgement about the performance of a local body.
As previously outlined, Cumbria has scored 2 stars in the latest CPA assessment. Here are the official Audit Commission classifications for each of the star ratings:
0 star: (There are no 0-star authorities in this year's CPA)
1 star: Below minimum requirements - inadequate performance
2 stars: At only minimum requirements - adequate performance
3 stars: Consistently above minimum requirements - performing well
4 stars: Well above minimum requirements - performing strongly
Follow the link at the bottom of the page to see a diagram explaining how various elements contribute to the overall CPA star rating:
The Audit Commission has already revealed its scores for Use of Resources, Corporate Assessment and Level 1 Services. These were announced to the media and public in November/December 2006 and were as follows:
Use of Resources: Score of 2
Corporate Assessment: Score of 2
Children's Services: Score of 2 (capacity to improve outcomes for children and young people classed as 'good')
Adult Social Care: Score of 2 (prospects for improvement classed as 'promising')
This new CPA assessment includes new scores for Culture, Environment and Fire, which are all classed as Level 2 Services.
Culture: Score = 4
The Audit Commission has given the county council a score of 4 out 4 in how it delivers its culture services, which include libraries and leisure. This means it is 'Performing strongly - well above minimum requirements' and repeats the score of 4 achieved in 2005.
The service assessment is constructed from two elements: performance information (62.5% weighting, score = 4) and inspection reports (37.5% weighting, score = 3).
The performance indicators below are classed in three categories. 'Above the upper threshold' means a comparatively high performance and 'Below the lower threshold' means a comparatively low performance.
Above the upper threshold:
Public library service standards on access
Public library service standards on ICT provision
Active borrowers as a percentage of population
Public library service standards on stock
Cost per visit (libraries)
Public library service standards on satisfaction – assessment of users 16 and over
Percentage of 5 to 16 year olds in school sports partnerships engaged in two hours a week minimum on high quality PE and school sport within and beyond the curriculum
Between the thresholds:
Percentage of total length of footpaths and other rights of way easy to use by members of the public
Resident satisfaction with libraries
Stock level and stock-turn
Museums accreditation – where applicable (this applies to museums that fall under the definition for BVPI 170)
Below the lower threshold:
(No performance indicators)
Cllr Roger Bingham, Cabinet member responsible for culture, said: "It's been another year of delivering top-class culture services to the people of Cumbria. Our library standards continue to be top-notch and we have a higher than average number of active library borrowers. Our work with voluntary organisations has also been recognised, as has the valuable efforts in promoting culture and leisure to young people, which includes an energetic sports programme for 5-16 year olds in and around schools."
Environment: Score = 3
The Audit Commission has given the county council a score of 3 out 4 in how it delivers its environmental services, which include transport, planning and waste. This means it is 'Performing well - consistently above minimum requirements' and is an improvement on the score of 1 given in 2005.
The service assessment is constructed from the following elements: environment performance information (74.5% weighting, score = 3), waste management inspection reports (10.5% weighting, score = 1) and transport inspection reports (15% weighting, score = 2).
The performance indicators below are classed in three categories. 'Above the upper threshold' means a comparatively high performance and 'Below the lower threshold' means a comparatively low performance.
Above the upper threshold:
Recycling and composting performance
Satisfaction with passenger transport information
Condition of surface footway
Trading standards checklist of best practice
Consumer satisfaction with trading standards service
Business satisfaction with trading standards service
Trading standards visits to high-risk premises
Trading standards levels of business compliance High/Medium/low risk premises
Between the thresholds:
Progress with LTP
Satisfaction with waste disposal (civic amenity sites)
Condition of unclassified roads
Reducing killed and seriously injured (KSI) road casualties
Satisfaction with bus services
Percentage of pedestrian crossings with facilities for disabled people
Intervention by the Secretary of State under Traffic Management Act powers
Reducing slightly injured road casualties
Below the lower threshold:
Number of kilograms household waste collected per head
Cllr Jack Richardson, cabinet member responsible for client services, said: "The county council has shown a marked improvement in the way it delivers environmental services. We are already well ahead of target in the amount of household waste we recycle, currently 36%, and have set challenging new targets to reduce, reuse and recycle even more. More work is being done on reducing the amount of household waste produced per head and those efforts are already bearing fruit since the inspection was carried out."
Cllr Ian Stewart, cabinet member responsible for the environment, said: "The assessors have acknowledged that our road conditions have improved and have also recognised our work in providing community travel schemes to rural areas. It has noted areas that still need to be improved, such as road lighting and users' concerns about public transport, but has noted that transport has promising prospects for improvement."
Fire & Rescue: Score = 4
The Audit Commission has given the county council a score of 4 out 4 in how it delivers its fire and rescue services. This is the first time the Fire & Rescue service has been assessed in this way. A previous CPA assessment in 2005 rated the service as 'fair' (other options were 'excellent', 'good', 'weak' and 'poor') by examining staff training, budget management and community safety work. The new CPA assessment builds on this by incorporating: progress made in the authority in the last year; management of finances and value for money; and an operational assessment of service delivery (OASD) carried out by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The score of 4 means the fire and rescue service is 'performing strongly - well above minimum requirements'. It has been achieved by combining performance indicators (score = 4) and the operational assessment of service delivery (score = 3).
The performance indicators below are classed in three categories. 'Above the upper threshold' means a comparatively high performance and 'Below the lower threshold' means a comparatively low performance.
Above the upper threshold:
Primary fires per 10,000 population
Deaths arising from accidental dwelling fires per 100,000 population
Percentage of accidental dwelling fires confined to room of origin
False alarms caused by automatic fire detection attended per 1,000 non-domestic properties
Number of deliberate primary fires (including vehicles) per 10,000 population
Between the thresholds:
Accidental dwelling fires per 10,000 dwellings
Injuries arising from accidental dwelling fires per 100,000 population
Below the lower threshold:
(No performance indicators)
The operational assessment of service delivery (OASD) looks at fire prevention and emergency responses to fires, accidents, rescues, major incidents, terrorism and environmental threats. It covers the following areas:
- risk analysis
- prevention and protection
- operational preparedness
- call management and incident support
- emergency response
The following summary was provided by CLG to support its assessment:
"Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service has an energetic programme of change that is making a significant contribution to the community safety of the area. It is performing well in all areas of service delivery from its preventative work to emergency response. The service is performing strongly in risk analysis, and makes effective use of statistical data to inform its integrated risk management plan. It has robust arrangements for monitoring the performance of risk analysis, and takes positive action to address areas of greatest need within the community. The service's prevention and protection work is good having forged strong links with partner organisations, and in many cases taking a lead in achieving the objectives of the community safety agenda. Its work undertaken in relation to the prevention of road traffic collisions is particularly effective with a reduction in the number of people in targeted age groups killed or seriously injured. Operational preparedness and emergency response arrangements are good with successful use of software applications to manage staff availability, and learning and development. Overall, the service has strong leadership, and is performing well with clearly defined objectives."
Cllr Elizabeth Barraclough, cabinet member responsible for public protection, said: "This is a glowing endorsement of all the hard work done in the fire and rescue service. It is the first time an assessment like this has been carried out and it is very welcome news that it has scored top marks. The service has been undergoing a major process of modernisation - this is proof that the modernisation is working and that prevention is being put on an equal footing with cure."
What does 'Direction of Travel' mean?
As well as the overall star rating, all authorities are given a direction of travel rating by the Audit Commission. Cumbria County Council has been assessed as 'Improving Well' out of the following 5 possible scores:
Score of 0 - (There are no 0-star directions of travel in this year's CPA)
Score of 1 - Not improving adequately or Not improving
Score of 2 - Improving adequately
Score of 3 - Improving well
Score of 4 - Improving strongly
'Improving well' signifies the following:
- The county council has a track record of improvement in priority services and in making contributions to wider community outcomes.
- The county council is improving well relative to the performance of other councils where comparisons can be made.
- The county council can evidence improvements in serving diverse communities and in providing improved value for money.
- The county council has robust plans for further improving corporate ability and is delivering improvements in line with most of its plans, so providing confidence that outcomes will continue to improve.
- The county council can show a capacity to deliver future plans.
- The county council has no significant weaknesses in how it delivers improvement, or failures in corporate governance that would prevent improvement levels being sustained.
The Audit Commission provided the following statement to support its direction of travel assessment for Cumbria County Council:
"Good improvements have been achieved in prioritised areas such as waste management and youth services. All service areas are now achieving adequate standards with some stronger services. Improvement has been generated across a wider range of activities than the average for county councils. A key challenge for the Council is to sustain improvement to help raise its overall comparative performance. Cumbria is a low crime area and reductions have been made in violent crime, a key concern in local communities. The Council has contributed well to improving economic vitality during 2005-06. The number of jobs created in the overall economy exceeded targets. Plans to support reductions in health inequalities within the county are underdeveloped. Services supporting vulnerable people have expanded and improved overall. However, there remain variations in the services provided across the county. Plans for further improvement are more robust and likely to sustain the improvement trends generated over recent years. However, comprehensive workforce plans with partners are not yet in place to support progress over the longer term."
The national picture
The Audit Commission has carried out this 2006 assessment on a total of 150 local authorities in England, including all county councils, unitary authorities, London borough councils and Metropolitan district councils.
The following is a breakdown of the national performances on star ratings for all the above councils:
4-star: 32% of councils
3-star: 48% of councils
2-star 17% of councils
1-star 3% of councils
The national Direction of Travel analytical breakdown is as follows:
Improving Strongly (score of 4): 8% of councils
Improving Well (score of 3): 62% of councils
Improving Adequately (score of 2): 28% of councils
Not Improving Adequately / Not Improving (score of 1): 2% of councils
Only 30% of all county councils (including Cumbria) improved their overall star rating - 64% of county councils stayed the same and 6% saw their star ratings fall. No county councils managed to increase their star ratings by more than one star, out of the total 150 local authorities assessed, only 3 managed a 2-star increase (N.East Lincs 0 to 2 stars; Havering 1 to 3 stars; Waltham Forest 1 to 3 stars). In the North West, 8 of the region's 22 councils assessed moved up a star rating (please note, Cumbria's district councils were not included in this year's CPA assessment)
Cumbria's direction of travel (Improving Well) has stayed the same as 2005, which puts it in the same bracket as 70% of county councils in the country - 15% of county councils improved their direction of travel and 15% saw a deterioration in the direction of travel.
Media enquiries to Gareth Cosslett, News Manager on 01228 606332