Birmingham City Council surges ahead with three stars

6.32.00pm GMT Sun 10th Feb 2008

Liberal Democrats in Birmingham have welcomed the news that the Council has been awarded three stars by the Audit Commission, the local government watchdog. Lib Dem Council Group Leader Paul Tilsley said: "We are working for the interests of the people of Birmingham and achieving excellent services that give value for money at a price everyone can afford."

Birmingham City Council has been praised for improved management and achievements in adult social care, education and housing in the Audit Commission's annual assessment of local authorities.

The report states that the city council is improving well with better services that are consistently above minimum requirements, as well as providing value for money for the people of Birmingham.

Service areas praised in the report include social adult care, which received a two star rating by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) for the first time in November. The Council has focused on preventive care, through initiatives such as Fit for Life aimed at improving the health of targeted adults, and has invested £9million in third sector partners.

Housing was also highlighted as an improved service, with the Supporting People housing programme, which delivers housing support services to around 50,000 people in Birmingham, now providing an improved one star service.

The Council is also addressing unemployment by working alongside organisations such as the Learning and Skills Council and Job Centre Plus to get people such as the long term unemployed back into work by matching training to specific jobs.

The Audit Commission's report says: "Performance management is improving and this is leading to better services for people in Birmingham. Value for money continues to improve and the council has good capacity and plans with its partners to make future improvements."

Related Link:

Audit Commission.