Government praises Lib Dem Islington again for continuing improvements (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

Government praises Lib Dem Islington again for continuing improvements

April 20, 2004 12:00 AM

Islington's Liberal Democrat council has again been praised by the Government for its continuing efforts to improve services to residents in the borough. The Government Monitoring Board congratulated the Council on the:

Continuing dramatic improvements in times taken to process housing benefit claims and the major inroads made in clearing the backlog of applications.

Good work being done to ensure more robust and high quality financial systems. ? increase in the level of recycling in the borough and the new initiatives planned.

Improved working relationship with Islington Strategic Partnership.

Moves to improve management and project management skills across the council.

Islington Council's Executive also agreed a new Improvement Plan for the year ahead at its meeting last Thursday. This will now be discussed in detail by the Council's Performance Review Committee. Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Performance, Councillor Terry Stacy, said: "Last December, the government's Audit Commission confirmed that Islington is an improving council. "This latest feedback is yet another pat on the back for Islington and shows the government recognises we are already making rapid progress despite it not being long since the last GMB meeting. The Facts The 'Government Monitoring Board' was set up following publication of the first CPA in 2002. It aims to: - monitor the Council's progress in implementing its Improvement Plan - co-ordinate the support of government departments in achieving improvements in Islington, - recommend to ministers the degree to which engagement and/or intervention are appropriate in ensuring best value in service delivery; and - identify an exit strategy once the council's services have reached a sufficient level to allow the normal inspection regime, when the GMB will be dissolved.