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COUNCIL MUST DO BETTER

Shepway Council’s efforts to improve services to local people are encouraging, but must be sustained, says a report by an independent watchdog.

The Audit Commission says the strategic management of the council is strengthening, stronger processes have been developed and the council is investing for the future. There was a strong emphasis o­n improvement that was shared by councillors and senior managers and very recent signs of improvement were ‘encouraging’.

But the report says the improvements are not spread across the council and there was still a long way to go.

“The council’s efforts are o­nly beginning to be felt by the public and although this is encouraging, the council knows it must sustain improvement to deliver consistently good services,â€? said Stephen Mead, Audit Commission senior manager.

Cllr David Monk, Deputy Leader of the Council, said that the council had made significant progress which has improved some services.

Cllr Monk continued: "But we acknowledge that there is still work to do and we know that we must continue our efforts to spread those improvements so that even more local people benefit from better services.�