Mid Devon's finance management 'poor' (From This is The West Country)

Mid Devon's finance management 'poor'

10:43am Friday 18th December 2009

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MID Devon Council has received the lowest possible rating for the management of its finances and resources by the Audit Commission.

The new, independent website One-place reports that the council is performing ‘poorly’ while the rest of Devon’s authorities are rated as performing ‘well’ or ‘adequately’.

The council received a rating of 1 with the best possible rating being 4.

The Audit Commission assessment states that Mid Devon “does not manage its money or people well enough to be sure it can deliver good services in the future”.

It adds: “Residents’ satisfaction with how the council runs things is low compared to the national average.”

Among the areas where the report says Mid Devon could perform better are housing and economic development.

The council’s communications manager, Andrew Lacey, defended the council’s record, saying: “The Audit Commission focused mainly on the internal workings of the council, which doesn’t bear much relation to the quality of service people benefit from.

“The things that matter to local people are the services we’re delivering, by and large, very well.

“For example, streets are clean compared to other councils, recycling is high and we’re doing well in the delivery of affordable homes.”

Council leader Peter Hare-Scott said: “I’m very pleased about the external acknowledgement of the great strides Mid Devon Council has taken in improving a wide range of its services.

“However, we do take very seriously the messages regarding financial planning and staff development.

“We’ve already taken action to address these.

“We now have in place a very realistic five-year financial plan, and we’ve also produced a detailed plan which sets out how we’ll develop our workforce over the coming months.”

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