Issue - meetings

This report presents to Executive the Audit Commission’s final reports for the 2009 Comprehensive Area Assessment of the City of York. 

Note:  The above document was published with this agenda on 10 December 2009.

RESOLVED: That the Comprehensive Area Assessment Report be noted.

REASON:      To confirm that Members are aware of the CAA outcomes and recognise the achievements and areas for improvement identified in the report.

Members considered a report which presented the Audit Commission’s final reports on the 2009 Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) of the City of York.  The District Auditor, as the CAA lead, was in attendance to present the report and respond to any questions.

The CAA had been introduced in April 2009 as the new framework for the independent assessment of local public services in England.  It included two main elements; an area assessment of the delivery of agreed priorities across the whole area and an organisational assessment of the council.  On the area assessment, green flags indicated exceptional performance, while red flags represented significant concerns about outcomes or future prospects. 

York had been awarded a Green Flag (one of only seven awarded in the Yorkshire and Humber region), for its achievements and innovative working with disabled children, and no red flags.  On the organisational assessment, the Council had received a score of 3 for ‘Managing Performance’ within its services and a score of 2 for its ‘Use of Resources’. 

Members questioned the District Auditor on a number of inaccuracies within the CAA data for York published on the Audit Commission’s ‘oneplace’ website, as highlighted in the Council’s response to the CAA in the following item.  This was of particular concern given that this information had been picked up in press reports and could cause damage to the City’s reputation as a tourist destination.  The District Auditor confirmed that he would investigate the inaccuracies and provide a formal response.  He also confirmed that the results overall indicated that York was a good place to live and work and was showing strong progress in public health, maintaining its economy, becoming a greener city and reducing crime.

RESOLVED: That the Comprehensive Area Assessment Report be noted.

REASON:      To confirm that Members are aware of the CAA outcomes and recognise the achievements and areas for improvement identified in the report.