PR 1591

COUNTY COUNCIL SETS OUT PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT

Surplus school places are being reduced, adoption rates and family placements are above target, more `safer routes to school' are being created and recycling is steadily increasing. These are some of the results from Hampshire County Council's self assessment of performance that will be used by the Audit Commission when it conducts its annual review of the council's Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) later this year.

The report details progress to September 2004 on the County Council's priorities, goals and targets for the year 2004/2005. The assessment is made on the council's six aims: maximising life opportunities, stewardship of the environment, achieving economic prosperity, building strong and safe communities, improving services and developing councillors and staff so that they can provide the best service to the people of Hampshire.

The council looks set to meet its targets on ensuring more children attend school, and to provide more younger children with pre-school places. The number of unauthorised school absences has been reduced above target and a successful bid from Government has ensured that funded nursery places for 3-year-olds is now a universal entitlement, six months ahead of plan. The reduction in surplus school places to 9% of total capacity is also above the target of no more than 10% county wide, which is the target set by Government.

The overall number of visits to museums and heritage sites has increased and an continuing programme of library refurbishments and plans for discovery centres across the county will increase accessibility.

The number of `kinship care' placements for children in the Council's care has improved the stability of their home life and the Enhance project, which will provide 500 new nursing home beds for elderly people across the county by the end of 2006 is on schedule with 300 being made available at the end of March 2005.

More resources for Safer Routes to School and School Travel Plan programmes have been made available following a successful bid for funding from Government, while on the roads, the reduction of serious or fatal accidents looks set to attain its 26% reduction target by the end of the year.

The percentage of household waste recycled is steadily increasing - Hampshire is already in the top quartile of counties in the household recycling league - and there are plans to provide schools with their own on-site recycling facilities. However, the county is well on target to reach its target of diverting 40,000 tonnes of commercial, industrial and construction waste from landfill.

When it comes to the local economy, the Market Towns project is above target on the number of rural towns it works with to promote an area's strengths and tackle any weaknesses. In the community, 30 Accredited Community Safety Officers will begin work in four areas across the county at the beginning of December.

The moving goalposts of assessment mean it is difficult to predict the final judgement with confidence, so the Council has been steadily improving its performance management framework so that it monitors progress with all its key goals. Some of the more stretching targets the Council has set itself, or been set by Government, will not be met in the current year and the Council has investigated what action needs to be taken to ensure that consistently high standards of service are achieved across all areas of service in the future.

Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber said: "This is a comprehensive assessment of the work we do and the services we deliver to Hampshire residents.

"The targets we set are extremely challenging, and while I am pleased that this has helped us move forward - with many areas on, or even above target - we will continue to strive to maintain our `excellent' CPA status.

"I will ensure we continue to work as hard as we can with the resources available to improve the opportunities and quality of life for everyone who lives in Hampshire."

ENDS

For further information please contact: Vanessa Burton on 01962 847367

vanessa.burton@hants.gov.uk

01/11/2004