News September 2006
Hackney heading in the right direction
Hackney Council’s Direction of Travel has been rated as ‘improving well’ after the Audit Commission revised its score today to three out of a possible four.
The new rating, coming mid-way through the year, shows that the Audit Commission has recognised the pace of change in Hackney.
Hackney’s elected Mayor, Jules Pipe, said: “Over the past five years we have seen improvements right across the Council from reducing crime to better results in schools and increased rates of recycling. Of course we’ve still got a long way to go and we’re focusing on that, including making sure we get better value for money for our services.”
The improvements feeding into Hackney’s new rating include:
- 76% of Hackney’s performance indicators for 2004/05 were up on the previous year
- 20% crime reduction target exceeded 18 months ahead of schedule – the first borough in London to achieve this
- 51% A-C GCSE grades, up two–thirds in four years
- Services for children also have a score of 3 out of 4 from the Joint Area Review (JAR)
- 18% recycling rate up from 1% in 2002
In the same week, the auditors confirmed that Hackney’s accounts had been cleared without any qualifications for the first time in more than a decade, following year-on-year reductions in issues raised by the District Auditor, Mayor Pipe said: “The first priority for me when I was elected was to get the Council’s finances in order. We’ve achieved a very sound and well-managed financial base that we needed to accelerate our rate of improvement across our services.”
The Audit Commission picked out improvements for hard to reach groups, such as services for adults with mental health problems, physical or learning disabilities and in the planning service. The judgment expressed confidence that Hackney’s improvement will continue.
Page updated: 28 Feb 2007