Bradford report highlights Council's achievements and areas to improve

Bradford City Council is performing adequately according to an independent report released by the Audit Commission. Effective leadership, good partnership working and a culture of challenge is now providing a positive focus to deliver improved outcomes for the whole of the district after a period of uncertainty and transition.

Resident satisfaction with the Council has improved, bucking the national trend, and economic activity is helping to create new business and get local people into jobs. There are still challenges in the provision of housing to be addressed as well as the impact of transport on climate change where progress has been slow. Bradford is becoming a cleaner city, with falling crime levels and work to reduce tensions across communities is effective.

Stephen Gregg, Audit Commission senior manager, said: The Council has undergone a number of managerial changes over the last few years and there is now more stable leadership. It is working with its partners to ensure ambitions are focusing more effectively on the economic development and regeneration of the district and improving the education and skills of local people. There are good arrangements to gather the views and concerns of local people and turn them into action to improve their quality of life.

Strengths include:

• The developing leadership of partnership working. 
• A good range of opportunities for local people to have their say. The Council consults on its plans and engages residents and partners in setting its priorities. 
• Plans to improve outcomes for children and young people in Bradford. 
• Local people have benefited from regeneration projects, including getting long term unemployed residents into work.

Areas for improvement include:

• More consistent improvements across all Council services.
• Councillor involvement in managing the performance of the Council.
• Addressing potential problems in relation to air quality as traffic levels increase.

To help the Council to build on its success inspectors made a number of recommendations. These include:

• Ensuring that resources are clearly used to meet the emerging ambitions and priorities identified in the Big Plan. 
• Agree a joint plan with partners to tackle health inequalities in communities.
• Improve work on human resource management for example developing plans for future workforce requirements.

Following publication of the report the Council will plan what it needs to do to further improve its services to meet the changing needs of its residents. Copies of the report are available from Bradford Council or from the Audit Commission website at www.audit-commission.gov.uk/.