WARRINGTON is making “significant progress” and delivering improvements on the ground in the 16 months since the town was slated in a controversial Audit Commission report.
In its first Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) of the borough, the Commission handed out “red flags” to Warrington for having pockets of high unemployment in the most deprived areas and health inequalities between people living in the most and least well-off areas.
Despite initially slamming the CAA report, the Warrington Partnership – a grouping of public, private and voluntary sector organisations, took action to remedy the alleged problems through its “Closing the Gap” and “Stronger Together” initiatives.
Last August, the Partnership commissioned the Local Government Improvement and Development Agency (LGID) to undertake a peer assessment – not an inspection, but an offer of support from “critical friends.”
A six-strong peer team consisting of an officer and member from two London boroughs, a senior police officer, a health chief, a voluntary service chief and an improvement manager from the LGID spent three days in Warrington in January
Their conclusion was that the Partnership could demonstrate good evidence of improvements, especially in health and employment, local of evidence of practical local initiatives, a strong desire in Warrington “close the gap” and strong links with the voluntary sector
But the team also a need to strengthen communication, review how the Partnership engages with local communities to ensure they can participate and how it can simply strategies, plans and processes.
The peer team warns of pockets of complacency, perhaps arising from the overall positive picture for Warrington, which could present a challenge to ambitions to reduce inequalities
They also say Warrington often gets “ahead of the game” in its thinking, but then wraps this up in complexity instead of keeping messages simple.
Although there is clear evidence that Warrington consults widely, residents do not recognise this.
A report on the peer assessment has been presented to the borough council’s executive board, which has accepted the progress made to date and resolved to use its findings to make further improvements.
WARRINGTON is making "significant progress" and delivering improvements
on the ground in the 16 months since the town was slated in a
controversial Audit Commission report.
Town making significant progress
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About Author
Gary Skentelbery
Experienced journalist for more than 40 years. Managing Director of magazine publishing group with three in-house titles and on-line daily newspaper for Warrington. Experienced writer, photographer, PR consultant and media expert having written for local, regional and national newspapers. Specialties: PR, media, social networking, photographer, networking, advertising, sales, media crisis management. Chair of Warrington Healthwatch Director Warrington Chamber of Commerce Patron Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace. Trustee Warrington Disability Partnership. Former Chairman of Warrington Town FC.
3 Comments
If the Lib/Cons had been operating competently enough in the first place they wouldn’t have been slated in a controversial Audit Commission report!
16 months down the line they’ve had another outside assessment which again highlights more negative than positive aspects, and they expect us to believe this is progress? What a joke! Perhaps the funniest thing in the above report though is this statement….. ” Although there is clear evidence that Warrington consults widely, residents do not recognise this”….. this isn’t surprising when the so called ‘public consultations’ are done behind tightly closed doors!
The problem isn’t whether we have had a Labour or a Lib/Con administration. The problem – across the whole of WBC – is that for years we have had NO administration at all! Council officers and employees have been given free reign to do whatever they like, screw up everything they touch, and completely ignore the wishes of the Warrington people who are both their employers and their customers, without being called to account by the elected representatives who are supposed to have responsibility for their departments. This is shown very clearly by the executive member responsible for education (in other words – the person one would expect to be the boss of the education department) being “very disappointed” by the recent decision HER OWN DEPARTMENT has made. Witness also the complete lack of the responsible elected representative standing up and being counted for the appalling lapses and shoddy performances of the planning, highways and childrens services departments. What council tax payers want when there is a problem or an issue, is to see the councillor responsible for that department stand up and say “The performance of this department in this situation has been unacceptable. I have INSTRUCTED my department managers that they WILL in future do……..”. Otherwise, what is the point of having elected councillors at all? But all we get, time after time, is the childish excuse “It’s not my fault, un-named council officers did it and then ran away!”
When we have so many migrant workers there should be no excuse for the unemployment level in Warrington.
I am sick of seeing people receive benefits because they refuse to work, the only people out of work should be people with severe disabilities and the elderly who have already worked so hard though their lives.
I know people who are disabled and have gone back to work after retirement who all work hard while good for nothing leeches just take money from our pockets.
Most of the time you can also guarantee that when a violent crime has occurred it will be one of these people who think they are not given enough as it is. Put them to work, or put them in jail and make them work there.
There is no real affective initiative in Warrington to get people native to the town to work, it just seems easier to import the workers instead.
This town is a disgrace and I genuinely worry about raising my children here.