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13/01/09 : Labour Reading delivering Value for Money, says Audit Commission :
The Audit Commission has published its annual verdict on Reading Borough Council, which still has a Labour administration and a Labour Cabinet, and it says Value for money is good and continues to improve despite the Council operating within tight financial constraints and keeping council tax low.
And the Audit Commission, which is wholly independent, also:
- Praises Reading's recycling and composting performance for being amongst the best nationally. The waste private finance initiative (re3) is securing further improvement and tackling the high cost of waste disposal
- Says the high quality of Reading's public transport encourages the use of sustainable transport
- Says that priority services are improving and Reading is above the national average for improvements to services over the last three years
- Acknowledges that weaknesses identified in child protection are being addressed by the Council.
- Believes that, despite internal change, the Council continues to provide strong and effective leadership through partnership working.
- Says that Reading's political leadership is effective and well regarded and that senior councillors play an active and influential role in championing the needs of the borough in terms of economic development, community safety, and services for older people and children and young people.
- Concludes that Reading has a forward-thinking council with a strong understanding of the key challenges facing the town, as well as Berkshire and the surrounding region.
Reading Borough Council Leader, Labour's Jo Lovelock, says: "This is a very encouraging report, which shows the council maintaining good progress through a period of considerable change. As with all such inspections we take the recommendations very seriously and we are never complacent about the need to ensure good services get even better and things that need to improve are put right as quickly as possible."
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