It’s official – Government watchdog says we are Excellent!

Worcestershire County Council’s services, and our plans to improve them further, are officially Excellent according to the Audit Commission.

The Government watchdog announced that we have achieved an Excellent Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) rating. This has secured the authority a top spot alongside the UK’s best performing councils.

Colleagues countywide have played their part in the drive to Excellent and our Chief Executive Rob Sykes has high praise for staff.

"This has been a complete team effort. I want to thank and congratulate all staff who are working hard to deliver better services and improve the quality of life for Worcestershire’s residents."

"The rating supports our belief that we are one of the best councils in UK," he added. "It’s particularly satisfying that whilst we are one of the country’s lowest funded authorities, we have still managed to achieve Excellent status through innovative and effective ways of delivering services and continuing efficiencies."

However, Rob is clear that there is no room for complacency.

He said: "CPA is partly about our plans for the future so we must make sure we deliver on these. We know we have got further to go and now we have got the Excellent rating we don’t want to let it go."

CPA is a Government initiative that measures performance and produces local authority league tables. Led by the Audit Commission, it aims to promote improvement and rates councils as Excellent, Good, Fair, Weak or Poor.

We were awarded our Good rating in 2002, which was reaffirmed in December 2003 and again in August this year. However, our Excellent upgrade comes after a lightning inspection by CPA assessors in December 2004

Diane Tilley, Head of the Chief Executive’s Unit, has been at the heart of the inspection process. She said the benefits of our new status are wide-ranging.

“We will face considerably less external scrutiny, giving us more freedom and greater scope to introduce innovative ways of delivering services. Becoming an Excellent authority also enhances our credibility, both in the eyes of the public and the world of local government. It’s good news for residents and staff because it could open up new funding and partnership opportunities and it’s a desirable quality for anyone seeking employment here.”

CPA December 2004 Report  (55.93 KB)

CPA 2004 Scorecard  (76.38 KB)