STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL 12 DECEMBER 2002

HAMPSHIRE IS EXCELLENT - AND NOW IT'S OFFICIAL

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Hampshire County Council is one of the best in the country and serves its people well - and that's been officially confirmed in the Government's first tables of performance for all 150 county and unitary councils published today.

Hampshire has earned a place in the top `excellent' category among the most dynamic and innovative councils in the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), which looks at councils' achievements to date and their future improvement plans.

In their praise, Government watchdogs, the Audit Commission, said: "Hampshire County Council has a strong focus on achieving its objectives, high customer satisfaction and overall some of the best services provided by a county council. It has strong political and executive leadership, is open to challenge and new ideas and has high quality staff."

Commenting on the council's success, Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber, said: "This has been a highly important process for the County Council and the secret of our success has been the dedication and professionalism of our 32,000 staff and councillors in delivering high quality services.

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"Our `excellent' result means we will gain additional flexibilities and the freedoms to get on with the day job of improving services that matter to local people, without interference from Government.

"Our commitment to partnership working has been praised and projects as varied as Early Years and Childcare development, South Hampshire Rapid Transit (SHRT), the joint working with health for funding to expand the much-needed nursing care provision, the Project Integra Waste Management contract and working with district councils through the Local Strategic Partnerships (LSPs) have all been highlighted as examples of best practice and innovation."

In the key service areas, the inspectors found performance in education continuing to improve and said the council was assessed well above the national average. Social Services received a strong assessment and while there was scope for more improvement, overall strengths significantly outweighed weaknesses.

The inspectors found that the council's priorities were based firmly on local needs. They said: "The council has an impressive array of methods of communication and consultation with users and partners and good intelligence about the views of its residents and other stakeholders."

Councillor Thornber said: "I am delighted that the CPA recognised our strong financial control and our commitment to shifting resources to high priority areas, including the increased funding for Social Services and extra money in schools. It is ironic we have just received the joint lowest grant settlement of all county councils as part of the Government's bid to shift resources North and as a result we will be forced to make up the shortfall through Council Tax if we are to maintain
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our service levels. Is this how the Government should treat `excellent' councils? Together with other south-east counties we are seeking an urgent meeting with ministers to continue our fight for a fairer deal.

"We know there is always room for improvement and we do not shy away from making tough decisions when necessary to progress our corporate aims and we will build upon this over the coming months. We will have some difficult challenges to meet and we will be robust in tackling these head-on."

Hampshire is one of four councils highlighted in a new publication by the Local Government Association called `Leading the Agenda - the Local Government improvement Story'.

Members of the public can view the full assessment on the County Council's website Hantsweb at www.hants.gov.uk/cpa or at www.councilperformance.gov.uk

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Vanessa Burton 01962 845626
10 December 2002
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If you would like to arrange interviews or receive an embargoed copy of the Audit Commission's assessment of Hampshire County Council prior to Thursdays publication, please contact Kate Ball in the press office on 01962 845626 e-mail kate.ball@hants.gov.uk