2006-2007 - Annual Audit and Inspection Letter - Slough BC v1.0

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Annual Audit and Inspection Letter

March 2008

Annual Audit and Inspection Letter

Slough Borough Council

 

External audit is an essential element in the process of accountability for public money and makes an important contribution to the stewardship of public resources and the corporate governance of public services. Audit in the public sector is underpinned by three fundamental principles. • Auditors are appointed independently from the bodies being audited. • The scope of auditors' work is extended to cover not only the audit of financial statements but also value for money and the conduct of public business. • Auditors may report aspects of their work widely to the public and other key stakeholders. The duties and powers of auditors appointed by the Audit Commission are set out in the Audit Commission Act 1998, the Local Government Act 1999 and the Commission's statutory Code of Audit Practice. Under the Code of Audit Practice, appointed auditors are also required to comply with the current professional standards issued by the independent Auditing Practices Board. Appointed auditors act quite separately from the Commission and in meeting their statutory responsibilities are required to exercise their professional judgement independently of both the Commission and the audited body.     Status of our reports This report provides an overall summary of the Audit Commission’s assessment of the Council, drawing on audit, inspection and performance assessment work and is prepared by your Relationship Manager. In this report, the Commission summarises findings and conclusions from the statutory audit, which have previously been reported to you by your appointed auditor. Appointed auditors act separately from the Commission and, in meeting their statutory responsibilities, are required to exercise their professional judgement independently of the Commission (and the audited body). The findings and conclusions therefore remain those of the appointed auditor and should be considered within the context of the Statement of Responsibilities of Auditors and Audited Bodies issued by the Audit Commission. Reports prepared by appointed auditors are: •prepared in the context of the Statement of Responsibilities of Auditors and Audited   Bodies issued by the Audit Commission; and • addressedthe sole use of the audited body; to members or officers and prepared for no responsibility is taken by auditors to any member or officer in their individual capacity, or to any third party.   Copies of this report If you require further copies of this report, or a copy in large print, in Braille, on tape, or in a language other than English, please call 0844 798 7070. © Audit Commission 2008 For further information on the work of the Commission please contact: Audit Commission, 1st Floor, Millbank Tower, Millbank, London SW1P 4HQ Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] Textphone (minicom): 020 7630 0421 www.audit-commission.gov.uk

Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │ Contents 3 

Contents Key messages Action needed by the Council Purpose, responsibilities and scope How is Slough Borough Council performing? The improvement since last year - our Direction of Travel report Service inspections Inspections and assessments undertaken by other regulators The audit of the accounts and value for money Use of Resources The key issues arising from the audit Performance management Health inequalities Supporting people Follow up - Data quality Looking ahead Closing remarks Availability of this letter

4  5   6   7   8   13   16   17   18   20   20   20   21   22   24   25   25  

Slough Borough Council

4Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │Key messages

Key messages 1 This letter provides an overall summary of the Audit Commission's assessment of the Council. It draws on audit and inspection work carried out in 2007. It also provides an analysis of the Council’s performance and improvement over the last year as measured through the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) framework. The key elements of the framework include the use of resources assessment, results of service assessments by the Commission, CSCI and BFI and the direction of travel statement, which is informed by 2006/07 performance information. 2 The letter is addressed to the Council and in particular it has been written for Councillors. We also want the letter to tell the public, who use the Council’s services, and other stakeholders about the Council’s performance, so it is also made available as a public document. 3 The main messages for the Council are the following. • overall performance  Theof the Council is improving adequately and it is classified as a two star council. The performance assessment for Housing deteriorated with the service scoring a one. • The assessment of the way the Council manages its resources – the use of resources judgement – scores the Council at level 3, which is performing well. This improvement from the previous year is as result of better financial management arrangements to facilitate service improvements to the public. •Council has continued to make good progress in delivering challenging The  efficiency savings targets. • The Council’s arms length management organisation (ALMO) is providing a 'good' service with ‘promising prospects for improvement.’ It is now important that further improvements are secured and given the access to significant funding the plans to improve the housing stock are properly managed. •services whilst in line with the overall rate of improvement of Council  The national average has slowed during a year of managerial change. •maintaining high standards in priority services including Council is  The education and social care. Overall improvements in other Council services areas such as planning, waste management, highways and transactional services is mixed. •in the customer service centre had not yet improved customer Investment  service. • There is considerable scope to improve customer focus of the benefits service in particular. • Progress in implementing plans to improve and embed key corporate processes and systems has been slow, particularly in the following areas: performance management, data quality management, risk management and implementation of new ICT projects.

Slough Borough Council

Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │ Key messages 5 

• Performance management arrangements in some key areas of partnership working such as health inequalities and supporting people are not robust.

Action needed by the Council 4 the following matters reported in this letter.Councillors need to focus on • Ensure the Council wide performance management framework is consistently applied across all services areas. Members need to show leadership in scrutinising performance in weaker and priority areas. •the level of scrutiny and oversight in the implementation of corporate Improve  processes and systems to ensure the planned impact is being achieved. •Ensure that investment in the customer centre is delivering improvements for   users. • Take action to improve the customer focus of the Benefits service. • there are sound arrangements in place to actively monitor, manage Ensure and evaluate the performance and impact of partnership working. • Take a lead in working with partners to address issues of health inequalities in East Berkshire. • Ensurein place to maintain a sound system of there are robust arrangements internal control. •  Ensurea Council wide corporate business continuity plan is drawn up, implemented and reviewed on a regular basis. • arrangements for managing significant business risks. In Strengthen particular ensuring there is Member leadership and Council wide processes in place. 5 Looking ahead, the Council and its partners need to work closely together over the next year to ensure that, together, they are ready to jointly meet the expectations of the new Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) performance assessment framework. The CAA will focus on the future prospects for local areas and the quality of life for people living there, and will emphasise the experience of citizens, people who use services and local taxpayers. It will therefore assess the effectiveness of local partnership working. This contrasts to the current CPA framework, which is based on assessing the performance of councils only. 6 context, the Council has been working with partners to jointly agree areasIn this for medium term improvement that reflect key Sustainable Communities Strategy objectives as part of the new Local Area Agreements. All partners will need to accept joint responsibility for delivering objectives and it is important that Members show leadership in taking the agenda forward and monitoring the delivery of improvements to the local community.

Slough Borough Council

6Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │Purpose, responsibilities and scope

Purpose, responsibilities and scope 7 This report provides an overall summary of the Audit Commission's assessment of the Council. It draws on the most recent Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), the findings and conclusions from the audit of the Council for 2006/07 and from any inspections undertaken since the last Annual Audit and Inspection Letter. 8 We have addressed this letter to members as it is the responsibility of the Council to ensure that proper arrangements are in place for the conduct of its business and that it safeguards and properly accounts for public money. We have made recommendations to assist the Council in meeting its responsibilities. 9 This letter also communicates the significant issues to key external stakeholders, including members of the public. We will publish this letter on the Audit Commission website atmmsi-tocuaidww.w.uk..govsionThe Council should also publish the letter on it's own website. 10 appointed auditor I am responsible for planning and carrying out an auditAs your that meets the requirements of the Audit Commission’s Code of Audit Practice (the Code). Under the Code, I review and report on: • Council’s accounts; the • whether the Council has made proper arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources (value for money conclusion); and •performance plan has been prepared and whether the Council's best value published in line with legislation and statutory guidance. 11 This letter includes the latest assessment on the Council’s performance under the CPA framework, including our Direction of Travel report and the results of any inspections carried out by the Audit Commission under section 10 of the Local Government Act 1999. It summarises the key issues arising from the CPA and any such inspections. Inspection reports are issued in accordance with the Audit Commission’s duty under section 13 of the 1999 Act. 12 to the Council relating to 2006/07 audit andWe have listed the reports issued inspection work at the end of this letter.  

Slough Borough Council

Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │ How is Slough Borough Council performing? 7  

How is Slough Borough Council performing?  13 overall judgement is that Slough Borough Council isThe Audit Commission’s improving adequately and we have classified the Council as two-star in its current level of performance under the Comprehensive Performance Assessment. These assessments have been completed in all single tier and county councils with the following results. Figure 1  

 

 

 

 

Source: Audit Commission 14 the Council has improved services in line with the nationalDuring 2006/07 average and maintained high standards in priority services including education and social care. 15 Some poorer performing areas show marginal improvement, including waste recycling and transactional services such as processing of benefit claims, invoice payments and council tax collection. Planning applications are decided more quickly but appeals have increased significantly. Investment in the customer service centre is not yet improving customer service. Some housing indicators have worsened and over half the Council’s housing stock remains non-decent but improvement prospects are assessed as promising thereby securing access to new funding. Prospects for further improvement are good in services for children and young people and adult social care. 16 The Council has streamlined its management structure to give greater capacity. Better financial management arrangements have improved overall use of resources but progress remains slow in implementing plans to improve data quality and performance management.

Slough Borough Council

8Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │How is Slough Borough Council performing?

17 Despite the Council’s concerns about population statistics and the associated impact on funding and per capita comparisons, it generally provides good value for money, but Councillors need to focus on improving community outcomes. 18 Our overall assessment for Slough Borough Council is outlined in table 1, the CPA scorecard. Table 1 CPA scorecard   Element Assessment Direction of Travel judgement Improving adequately Overall Two-star   Assessment (out of 4) Corporate assessment/capacity to improve 3   Current performance   Children and young people* 3 Social care (adults)* 3 Use of resources* 3 Housing 1 Environment 3 Culture 2 Benefits 3 (Note: * these aspects have a greater influence on the overall CPA score) (1 = lowest, 4 = highest)  

The improvement since last year - our Direction of Travel report What evidence is there of the Council improving outcomes? 19 The overall picture remains positive but the rate of progress has slowed during a year that has seen significant managerial changes and office moves. Improvement has occurred in 62 per cent of core performance indicators across a range of corporate and service areas, which is the average percentage improvement across all single tier councils, as illustrated in figure 2.  

Slough Borough Council

Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │ How is Slough Borough Council performing? 9  

Figure 2 Improvement since last year Proportion of performance indicators that have improved

Source: Performance Indicator Profile December 2007 20 Performance remains better than average, with 35 per cent of the core performance indicators at the levels achieved by the best quarter of single tier councils, compared to the average, which is 29 per cent of the indicators. This is illustrated in figure 3 below. Figure 3 Top performing indicators Proportion of indicators in the 'best' quartile

Source: Performance Indicator Profile December 2007

Slough Borough Council

10Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │How is Slough Borough Council performing?

21 to perform well in its services for children and youngThe Council continues people. CSCI and Ofsted have again assessed the Council’s children and young people’s services as good. The range and accessibility of facilities and activities for young people are improving. More young people are in training or in employment. The amount of youth offending and re-offending is reducing. The Council provides a high quality fostering service to children and has improved the number of foster carers from a variety of backgrounds. 22 However, educational achievements have slightly slipped. Performance at key stages 2 and 3 have fallen by a small percentage in a number of areas and while attendance is good at secondary level, unauthorised absences from primary schools were more than twice the national average. 23 The Council's adult services are continuing to improve from an already high level. CSCI have again assessed the service as good in delivering improvement outcomes. It has made improvements in regard to people with learning difficulties and mental health problems and has achieved a significant reduction in the number of mental health in-patient stays. The promotion of sporting activities for people with mental health problems has won an award. 24 The Council's overall performance in the CPA housing service block has slipped from 2 in 2006 to 1 in 2007. The percentage of housing that meets the decency standard has continued to fall during the last year and is very low, at 41 per cent. 25 However the has Council recently been able to accelerate its internal improvement programme. Also its Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO), People 1st, has been re-inspected and has achieved an improved assessment as a ‘good, two-star service with promising prospects for improvement’. This will have a significant effect on the Council as it will give it access to £49.5m of funding to bring its housing stock up to the decent home standard. 26 The number of homeless people requiring temporary accommodation has reduced. The Council housed 192 clients in temporary accommodation in 2005/06 compared to157 clients in 2006/07 representing an 18 per cent reduction. It has reduced its use of bed and breakfast as temporary accommodation to house homeless people from an average of five weeks to zero. 27 The Council’s investment in its customer service centre is not yet improving service to the customer. Whilst the range of services provided and take up has increased response times have slowed. The average customer waiting time for a general phone call has increased from 2 seconds in 2005/6 to 69 seconds in 2006/07 and has further increased to 109 seconds (1 minute 49 seconds) in the first quarter of 2007/08. Calls are also taking longer to complete. The average time to complete a call has increased from 3 minutes 11 seconds in November 2005 to 6 minutes 18 seconds in September 2007. The annual resident’s survey shows little change in customer satisfaction, which remains low in comparison with others.

Slough Borough Council

Annual Audit and Inspection Letter │ How is Slough Borough Council performing? 11  

28 has made only limited improvement in the transactional servicesThe Council highlighted as poor last year. The collection of business rates has improved and is now at a good level. However improvement in Council tax collection and benefit claims has been marginal and the Council continues to lag behind others. The percentage of invoices paid within 30 days has continued to fall. 29 The Council has continued to improve the speed at which it deals with planning applications. Improvement has occurred in all three categories, most significantly in major applications. The Council’s performance now matches the best quarter of councils in each of category. However this success has had a detrimental effect on appeals, where the percentage of successful appeals has risen significantly, to 50 per cent in 2006/07. The level of appeals is among worst quarter of councils and involves a significant cost to the Council. No progress has been made towards improving the quality of service checklist rating of the planning service and the Council continues to miss the milestones set out in the Local Development Strategy (LDS). 30 The Council is taking steps to improve community safety. It is providing additional security measures for vulnerable residents and implementing dispersal and alcohol control orders, but these measures have not yet made a significant impact. In comparison with other areas crime levels remain relatively high and have increased in 2007 in a number of categories, including violence, robberies, burglaries and stolen cars. However latest 2007/08 figures show an improvement with a decrease in overall crime compared to previous years. 31 The Council has made modest improvements in waste management and recycling. Resident satisfaction with recycling has continued to improve over the last three years from 58 per cent to 73 per cent. Recycling rates have improved by 3.8 per cent, to 22.5 per cent, which is still below the statutory performance standard set by DEFRA which should have been achieved in 2005/06. However, this is below the national average rate of improvement and the Council remains among the worst quarter of councils. The volume of waste collected per head has increased though it remains amongst the best quarter of councils. 32 is mixed. The condition of principal roadsImprovement of roads and pavements has improved in line with the national average and there has been an increase in the percentage of pedestrian crossings with facilities for disabled people. However there has been a very sharp increase in the percentage of footways needing repair, which is now 41 per cent and amongst the worst quarter of councils. 33 workforce has become more representative of the population that itOverall the serves. Compared with other councils the percentage of employees from BME communities is above average and has increased from the previous year. However there has been a decrease in the top 5 per cent of earners who come from BME communities (37 per cent to 29 per cent) or have disabilities (23 per cent to 11 per cent) and comparative performance is below the average. 34 The Councils Environmental Health and Trading Standards have been recognised externally for customer services. With both services receiving a Charter Mark.

Slough Borough Council