Lynne Featherstone

What the Audit Commission’s Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) report into Haringey Council says:

• “Services provided by the Council are generally weak”
• Children’s Services Scores 1 out of 4
• Environment scores 1 out of 4
• Libraries and leisure scores 1 out of 4
• “Service performance is poor, with some 60% of all performance indicators in the bottom two quartiles in 200/2001. Public satisfaction with the council is low and falling.”
• “Target setting is inconsistent. Some targets are unrealistic and not likely to be achieved by 2005″
• “Over the last three years, the overall level of satisfaction has fallen across all services.”
• “The lack of clarity over how and when some priorities will be delivered needs to be overcome quickly”

Commenting on Haringey’s dismal rating in the Audit Commission’s Comprehensive Performance Assessment, the largest ever independent assessment of local councils’ performance, Cllr Ross Laird, Lib Dem Leader of the Opposition, comments:

“This is a disappointing result, which shows that Labour Haringey failing local people across a wide range of services.

“Granted, the Audit Commission has recognised some of the management improvements, but front-line service delivery remains very poor across the board.”

Cllr Neil Williams (Highgate), Lib Dem performance spokesman, adds:

“After these dreadful results, no doubt the Labour council will tell everyone that they are ‘turning the corner’. However, for years Haringey has always said that, every time it is condemned by an outside body.

“According to Haringey, the council is always ‘turning the corner’ – but always ends up back where it started, near the bottom of the pile.”