Council Stats Available To Residents On Line
Council’s website gives latest information on town hall’s performance
The updated information appears on the 'Open Council' section of www.wandsworth.gov.uk and allows residents to check on how the council is performing on a wide range of issues.
Residents can now see the latest A level and GCSE scores, new data on how long it takes to approve adoptions, the number of library books issued, the ratio of council tax being collected and how quickly new housing benefit claims are being processed.
This information sits alongside wider-ranging data showing how quickly local roads are repaired, the borough’s recycling rates, the progress of pupils in local schools and the time it takes to re-let an empty home.
Wandsworth’s performance is compared to London’s 32 other boroughs so that residents can see for themselves where the council is doing well – and just as importantly where performance is lagging.
In cases where the council’s performance is below average, the cabinet member responsible for that service explains why - and what he or she is doing to raise standards.
The information concentrates on the 27 key performance indicators which have been judged to be the most relevant to the public.
But to make sure these ratings continue to meet the public’s demands for transparency, the revamped website gives people the chance to vote on which indicators they want included in this top list and those they can do without.
The full list of more than 100 performance indicators is readily available on the Open Council section of the website giving residents the chance to gauge the council’s performance across all service areas. Accessing this wider list will help the public decide which indicators they want included in the key headline list.
Council leader Ravi Govindia launched the ‘Open Council’ initiative in January this year with a pledge to make Wandsworth Britain's most transparent council. Wandsworth was the first authority in London to give residents fully transparent information on how it was performing so that the public could hold local politicians and town hall managers to account.
As well as the performance indicators, this section of the council’s website also shows details of all town hall spending over £500. This will enable residents to see for themselves if the council is offering taxpayers the best value for money.
Cllr Govindia said: "The services we provide day in and day out directly affect the lives of nearly 300,000 residents. We want to make sure they have the information at their fingertips to hold us to account, so that we can be more responsive to their needs and better tuned in to their priorities. This drive for greater transparency and openness will raise standards and spur us on to become an even better council.”
To see the full list of performance indicators visit www.wandsworth.gov.uk/opencouncil.
May 15, 2012
