St Helens Council told: You must do more to help people become healthy

May 6 2008 by Laura Sharpe, Liverpool Daily Post

ST HELENS Council is performing strongly, according to an independent report released today – but it needs to work harder to improve health in the borough.

Inspectors from the Audit Commission said the top-rated four-star council is improving services for residents through effective leadership, strong partnership working and priority setting.

Although the commission recommended the council improve the health of the borough and address the needs of older people, the report notes the council has made noticeable improvements to the quality of life in St Helens during the last three years.

Its achievement reflects its focus on economic regeneration and tackling inequalities in the borough’s most deprived communities.

Peter Forrester, a senior manager with the Audit Commission, said: “The Council and its partners are driven by a shared commitment to improve the borough for all its residents, and they are working effectively together to deliver on local priorities.

“The Council's management ability is strong and it is showing effective community leadership.

“This is producing improvements which local people notice, including progress in some of the borough's most disadvantaged areas.”

The inspectors found:

The Council and its partners have an ambitious vision for St Helens, and are clear about what they need to do to achieve this ambition;

Priorities for action are firmly based on a sound understanding of the needs and views of local people;

The Council is a strong community leader and works very effectively with partners form all sectors, including business and the voluntary and community sector;

The Council vigorously champions the borough within the wider sub-region, securing benefits for the local area and promoting wider improvement;

Senior councillors and managers are providing strong and effective leadership;

The Council provides good value for money and is maintaining a strong drive for efficiency;

Services have improved consistently over the past three years; the Council has a firm grip on service delivery and acts promptly to tackle under-performance;

The Council works closely with partners to improve deprived neighbourhoods and has made considerable progress in difficult areas such as tackling unemployed and reducing crime.

To help the Council build on its success, the inspectors recommended work to create a faster rate of improvement in health and develop a health and social care strategy for older people.

Leader of the council, Cllr Brian Spencer, said he was pleased with the findings which backed the council’s current position as third best in the country.

He said: “We are pleased with the findings and are already addressing the recommendations.

“Historically, St Helens has a high mortality rate and health problems, but we are tackling the health of our young people so the trend will reverse, it will just take time.

“We are also providing 477 housing units for the over-55s and looking at the social and housing needs of pensioners.”

The Commission’s corporate assessment of St Helens is part of a wider inspection framework for county councils known as a comprehensive performance assessment (CPA).

The assessment measures how well councils understand and serve their community, and how this shapes their priorities as well as its capacity to deliver these and what the council is achieving.

On a scale of zero to four stars, the council currently has a four-star CPA rating.

laurasharpe