Contact: Chris Lawrence-Pietroni, ext 7385, e-mail: [email protected]

1 Executive Summary

The final draft of the self-assessment for the 2007 Corporate Assessment has been completed and is submitted to Cabinet for approval.

2 Recommendation

That Cabinet approve the self-assessment for submission to the Audit Commission subject to professional editing and proofreading and final approval by the Leader and the Chief Executive.

3 Self-assessment context

3.1 The 2007 Corporate Assessment is an essential component of our overall Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA). It is the council's first corporate assessment since 2002, when the council was rated as four out of four. Since then the assessment has got harder with very few authorities retaining a four out of four rating. If we do not achieve four out of four, then eventually the council's overall CPA rating will be lowered (the 2002 Corporate Assessment rating will be used until all authorities have been assessed using the new standards).

3.2 From 2009 the model for CPA will change. This will be the last full Corporate Assessment.

3.3 The self-assessment is the first stage of the Corporate Assessment. It will act as the basis for the Audit Commission inspection team's assessment. It has to conform to Audit Commission criteria for length, organisation and content.

3.4 The self-assessment has to be approved by the Leader and Chief Executive and submitted to the Audit Commission by 19 March. This is the last Cabinet meeting before that deadline.

4 Self-assessment status

4.1 The second draft of the self-assessment was due for completion on 15 February and for review at departmental management level by the 23 Feb. This is a near final draft, but will still be subject to professional editing and proofreading.

5 The key messages of the self-assessment

5.1 The key messages of the self-assessment were agreed at the Away-Day session on the morning of 2 February. They can be summarised as:

· Hampshire County Council has a proven track record of delivering high quality services for its residents and excellent value for money based on innovation, strong leadership, and long term thinking.

· The council has had to change dramatically over the last 5 years to take account of legislation, increasing demand for services, and increasing financial constraints.

· This has been done by:

· modernising our political structures to increase the role of all members and help them represent local interests

· making long term investments in the environment and infrastructure of Hampshire with sustainable results

· getting closer to our user communities so we can provide support that is specific to those communities

· leading partnerships more effectively

· introducing more rigorous planning

· This has required dramatic reorganisation throughout the council affecting every department.

· The transformation is progressing well and keeping us as a 4 star authority. However, demand will keep growing and resources will be even more constrained in the future. Continuous change will become a way of life. We need to develop the culture of the organisation to take account of this through.

6 Conclusion

This draft reflects the key messages agreed on 2 February and has been reviewed by Departmental Management Teams for accuracy and completeness.