Canterbury City Council Drops Out of Elite Group of Councils (Canterbury & Whitstable Liberal Democrats)

Canterbury & Whitstable Liberal Democrats <info@cantlibdem.org.uk>

Canterbury City Council Drops Out of Elite Group of Councils

December 11, 2009 2:09 PM

After achieving the top rank and getting the 5th highest score given to any council by the Audit Commission just over 5 years ago, Canterbury City Council has now slipped down the rankings in its latest performance assessment.

Although the Audit Commission report, released earlier this week, says the Council performs well, scores for "Managing Finances" fell from 4 out 4, to 3 out of 4, and the council has only received just 2 out of 4 for '"Managing the Business." - Which means it is now "an organization that meets only minimum requirements".

Lib Dem leader Alex Perkins said "while the Managing Business score is a sad reflection on the way the Conservatives now manage the council's business there are still huge positives which we can draw from the work of the district's council officers."

"When the Conservative administration took over from us four and a half years ago the council was in the top tier, and we were incredibly proud to have been awarded such a high score. But overall the scores are still pretty good in lots of areas and we must thank council staff for performing really well under difficult circumstances."

"I am particularly proud of the special mention given in the report to the council recycling scheme which we introduced in the teeth of huge opposition from the Conservatives. It is now under serious threat from their current proposals to halve the number of sacks given to each home and charge people for additional sacks, but we are hoping the Audit Commission's particular praise for our recycling scheme will force them to think again."

There is also praise for the plans for the Beaney and the Marlowe - both begun by the previous Lib Dem administration.

Lib Dem Cllr Nick Eden-Green added, "While we are clearly still just about on track I am a bit mystified by the report's findings on the environment. After all, the current council leader actually insisted that all reference to Climate Change be removed from the council's key strategies and he has voted against every single environmental initiative we have proposed."