20 November 2008On 10 July 2007, Sevenoaks District Council was announced as an 'Excellent' authority by the Central Government body, the Audit Commission.
The Council scored 58 points out of a possible 60, giving it the highest score of any district council under the new much tougher CPA. It was also the only district authority to be awarded the top score for achievement - the delivery of services to the public.
Introduction to Comprehensive Performance Assessment
Sevenoaks District Council review 2007
The inspectors' key findings
Further information and resources
Introduction to Comprehensive Performance Assessment
Comprehensive Performance Assessment, or CPA, is a national Audit Commission scheme run on behalf of Central Government to evaluate the performance of every English council.
The council under review has to submit a self-assessment of its strengths and weakness to the Audit Commission which is followed up by an on-site inspection usually lasting about week.
inspectors meet with the Council's partners, residents and staff and others with whom the Council does business to establish their views on the authority before reaching a decision.
The inspectors' findings are later scrutinised by a group of peers to ensure they are a fair reflection of the authority before the final grading is agreed.
The new CPA review was made more rigorous in 2007 with a special focus on value for money and the delivery of front line services.
Sevenoaks District Council review 2007
Sevenoaks District Council submitted its self-assessment of its strengths and weaknesses during September 2006. This was followed up an on-site inspection from the Audit Commission during March 2007. The inspectors met with staff from all levels of the organisation, partners and others.
As part of the assessment, the Council submitted a series of case studies as evidence.
The table below sets out Sevenoaks District Council's scores.
| Headline questions | Theme | Score* | Weighted score |
| What is the Council together with is partners, trying to achieve? | Ambition | 4 | 8 |
| Prioritisation | 4 | 8 | |
| What is the capacity of the Council, including its work with partners, to deliver what it is trying to achieve? | Capacity | 3 | 6 |
| Performance Management | 4 | 8 | |
| What has been achieved? | Achievement and improvement | 4 | 28 |
| Weighted score | 58 | ||
| CPA category | Excellent | ||
* Key to score |
|||
Banding thresholds for determining CPA category
| Category | Required score |
| Excellent | 45 to 60 |
| Good | 36 to 44 |
| Fair | 28 to 35 |
| Weak | 21 to 27 |
| Poor | 20 or less |
Sevenoaks was first inspected in March 2004 when it was classed as a 'Good' Council. In 2006 it volunteered to help pilot the Audit Commission's more rigorous CPA methodology and was tested again for real in the spring of 2007.
Overall the inspectors concluded that the Council is well run, demonstrates excellent community leadership and partnership working and delivers high quality services in almost all areas.
The Council achieved the top score for efficiency and achievement - the actual delivery of services.
The inspectors highlighted a number of Council achievements and successes.
Sevenoaks District has the cleanest streets anywhere in the country and levels of recycling and composting have increased significantly. According to the latest national customer satisfaction surveys, residents rate the street cleaning, refuse and recycling services as amongst the best anywhere in England.
Thanks to work by the Sevenoaks District Community Safety Partnership, which is led by the Council, incidents of crime and disorder are dropping and Sevenoaks is now the safest district in Kent.
Financial planning and management is strong and the Council is now one of the most efficient district councils in England and in the top one per cent for efficiency.
The inspectors said the benefits service was an area making significant improvement. The time taken to process benefit claims has been slashed from 49 to 33 days and the latest research has found that users of the service believe that it has improved markedly in the last three years.
The Council compared well with others in terms of new affordable housing. Completions per 1,000 population are three compared with a national average of 1.4. This was achieved within an area with many planning restrictions including the Green Belt, which covers 93% of Sevenoaks District.
Since February, no homeless people have been housed in bed and breakfast accommodation. Several years ago there could have been as many as 30 families at any one time. Thanks to improved advice and schemes to help avoid homelessness, the number of homeless applications reduced last year by more than 65% compared to the previous year.
Council innovation and partnership working were themes which ran through the inspectors' report. Examples included the Edenbridge Older Lifestyles Group, of which 96% of participants felt the group was important and the Swanley Healthy Lifestyles Project which has helped some 3,625 people over four years.
Increasing opportunities for young people was another area where the Council did well. The Young People's Action Plan helps to address the needs of young people and since its implementation last year, 212,000 young people have taken part in activities or programmes organised by the Council and its partners.
Other areas of praise were the Council's Contact Centre, consultation arrangements, acting on residents' priorities and its minibus service which provides transport to help address rural isolation, particularly for older people.
The inspectors also noted that staff morale was very high. Staff were said to understand their individual roles and their performance contributes to the Council's ambitions and priorities. Sickness absence has reduced and the number of days lost is lower than the national average.
The inspectors also highlighted two areas for improvement. Although there are many good examples of buying goods and services, the Council could do more to improve its strategic approach to procurement. The inspectors also said whilst the Council effectively manages human resources, it needs to develop a long-term workforce strategy. The Council is currently addressing both issues.
Further information and resources
For more information call Karl Sewell, Head of Policy, Performance and Communications, on 01732 227152, e-mail policy@sevenoaks.gov.uk
For more information about Comprehensive Performance Assessment, including comparison with other councils, visit the Audit Commission's website www.audit-commission.gov.uk.
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