Council wins praise from Government spending watchdog

8.19.20pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 13th Apr 2007

Richmond Council has received fresh plaudits from the Audit Commission over value for money. In its Annual Audit and Inspection Letter the Commission declares:

"The Council provides good value for money, with spending per head of population being one of the lowest in London, and has a good track record of delivering required change. The Council has robust plans and the capacity to sustain service improvement. Overall satisfaction with Council services is improving and amongst the best in London. The Council continues to provide good services for children and young people and makes an effective contribution to improving outcomes, for example in delivering the best results in the country for primary schools. The modernisation of adult social care continues and is reflected in performance improvements. Although national recycling targets have not been met, performance is improving and residents are noticing a cleaner borough."

The letter also states that the benefits and culture services continue to perform well. On crime, the letter notes that figures for robberies and domestic burglaries deteriorated but are now improving.

Council Leader, Cllr Serge Lourie, said:

"Key priorities for the Council include ensuring financial stability and value for money services, so we are delighted with this further evidence from the Audit Commission that we provide good value for our residents. We are one of only seven Councils nationally to score the maximum 4 out of 4 for value for money in the Audit Commission rankings. We are committed to using residents' money sensibly to provide high quality services. In our borough, where we get such a poor deal from the Government, this is a real challenge and the satisfaction levels are very encouraging. We are, of course, continually striving for improvement."