Portsmouth City Council is performing well, says watchdog » Local Government » 24dash.com

Portsmouth City Council is ’performing well’, according to a new report released today by the Audit Commission.

The Commission’s corporate assessment inspection team found that the Council, with its partner organisations, is delivering well on local priorities. Crime, the top priority for local people, is falling, although there are still problems with alcohol-related and violent crime.

Public space is clean and roads are improving. Good partnership working has resulted in increased life expectancy, particularly for women, and the Council has improved educational attainment in some key stages by investing in its schools.

The Council actively promotes and develops the local economy and this is benefiting the local community. It is decisive when it needs to be – such as in its work to protect jobs when the naval base faced closure. And it can be innovative in delivery – for instance in the 20 mph speed limit across the city’s residential areas.

Linda Krywald, Audit Commission senior manager, said: “Portsmouth City Council is performing well. It is ambitious for its communities and works effectively with partners and the community to address important issues. This is particularly true of the work on regeneration and its focus on developing local employment and skills.

“It has work to do to improve the way it ensures access to its services, particularly for the most vulnerable in the community. It also needs to have a focused approach to modernising itself and the way it manages its resources. Overall, we have found a broad consensus on what needs to be improved for local people and how. This is a positive foundation for future improvement.”

The report highlights areas of good performance:

* The Council has developed, with its partners, a good vision for the future of the city, which addresses the needs of the community.
* It is delivering well on its ambitions, especially those focused on the local economy.
* It demonstrates strong community leadership, such as in its work to avoid naval base closure in 2007.
* It manages its priorities well and has robust plans for delivering them.
* There is effective managerial leadership which is enabling stronger corporate focus and cross-departmental working.
* It engages well with the community and is proactive in seeking feedback and views of vulnerable groups.

To help the Council improve, the assessment makes a number of recommendations. These include:

* Speed up improvements in access to services and in the way the Council considers equalities and diversity.
* Develop its strategic approach to older people - thinking beyond social care and focusing on local people who are over 50.
* Maximise the capability and capacity of councillors so that they are more able to support the delivery of the strategic priorities of the Council.
* Develop a managed programme to modernise the Council.

The aim of corporate assessment is to test how well councils understand local people and local places and how well they deliver a better quality of life for all their communities, whether through improvements in their own services or working in partnership with others.

Copies of the report are available from Portsmouth City Council or on the Audit Commission web site at www.audit-commission.gov.uk/reports.