Local Government Minister, Dr Brian Gibbons today welcomed the publication of data showing how the quality of local authority services in Wales improved in 2007-8.
The Bulletin, published by the Local Government Data Unit, shows that while the standard of most local government services is improving there is still work to be done to close the wide range of performance between local authorities.
Dr Gibbons said:
I am delighted that this year’s Bulletin conveys some very positive messages about the standard of local government services. I congratulate local authorities and their employees for demonstrating the leadership, commitment and innovation needed to deliver high quality services to citizens.
Local authorities have made good progress in a number of key areas including:
* 5% less rubbish going to landfill and 3% more being recycled
* fewer children leaving school without a qualification (1.7% of all school leavers in 2007-8 compared with 2.1% in the previous year)
* more vulnerable adults receiving help to live in their own homes (94% of social services clients aged 18-64 in 2007-8 compared with 93% in the previous year)
* 44% reduction in the number of homeless families with children living in Bed and Breakfast accommodation
* 0.6% improvement in secondary school attendance – the first improvement in a number of years
* 2.5% reduction in delayed transfers of care per 1000 population aged 75 and over.
However, the data shows that there is still considerable variation in performance across authorities. For example, while good progress has been made in reducing the average time taken to deliver a disabled facilities grant by around 17%, this varied from 263 days in Monmouthshire to 868 days in the Vale of Glamorgan. In the field of Special Educational Need the percentage of statements issued within 26 weeks ranged from 100% in Denbighshire to 23% in Conwy.
I recognise that a wide range of influences affect service quality and only some of these are under a local authority’s control. However, there is no room for complacency. The Assembly Government is committed to continuing to work with local authorities, encouraging them to use and share these data so that they can learn from each other and work together to drive up delivery standards for their citizens.