Officially the Best

The council bucked the national trend of declining scores for culture by receiving an upward moving top mark.

The success in both awards can be attributed to many areas of work across the council including:

• Some of the best rates of improvement in the country for educational attainment, outstripping national scores in many instances. Key stage 2 results are the third most improved nationally, with record GCSE results achieved for the second year running - a 6% increase on 2004 figures.
• Extensive inward investment in the local economy is creating jobs for residents from deprived neighbourhoods. Through the Connecting with Communities in Need project, the council has worked with partners to ensure that over 90% of jobs have gone to Tameside residents.
• The sharpest fall in crime across the Greater Manchester region. Crime in Tameside is down by 11.2% compared to a 4.3% increase across Greater Manchester in 2006.
• Road traffic accidents have continued to fall, a testament to the innovative Tameside Watchman Scheme. The numbers of people killed and seriously injured on our roads has dropped by a third in recent years.
• Improving the borough's appearance - resident satisfaction has risen markedly reflecting improvements in street cleanliness especially in areas of greatest need. The council has won national awards for parks and made major environmental improvements through initiatives such as the In-Bloom competition, in which Tameside received first prize.
• Innovative and ground breaking approaches to recycling and street cleanliness. Doorstep recycling schemes have increased recycling by more than 100% in the last two years, and a managed-collection trial has produced a 53% recycling rate. Tameside is the only authority licenced to collect and crush its own glass in a machine designed by the council leader.
• High levels of resident and employee satisfaction - outstripping national averages. In a recent poll, 79% of residents said they were satisfied with their area as a place to live, 10% up on the previous survey, and compared with a national average of 72%. Recent results from an employee survey placed Tameside above all MORI benchmarks for employee satisfaction.

James Foster, from the Audit Commission, says the council recognises the challenges it faces to carry on improving. He said: "Tameside has built strong foundations for continued improvement - it also delivers value for money, scoring highly for efficiency, yet has one of the lowest Council Tax rises in the country".

Councillor Roy Oldham, Executive Leader, welcomed the results saying: "To receive recognition by independent inspectors on two fronts is great news for the council. It's also great news for everyone who lives and works in Tameside".

Commenting on the results, Janet Callender, Chief Executive, said: "As a council we strive to be at the heart of the community, and work hard to listen and respond to the needs of the community, partners and employees.

"We realise that our hard work doesn't end here and we are realistic about the future. We know that even though we are the best in the North West , that we can improve even further, and we will continue to listen to what local people want and work hard with our partners to deliver their priorities."

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4-star explanation

Tameside was awarded a 4-star rating in the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) for the fourth successive year by the independent Audit Commission.

And it is one of only 10 authorities across the country - the only one in the north west - to achieve the 'double' of a 4-star rating and 'improving strongly'. Put simply this means the borough is not only at the top of its game, but also improving and at the fastest pace year-on-year.

But how does the Audit Commission reach their decision and what guides do they use to reach their conclusion?

 Ability

The Commission have said about the CPA process: "Each council will have a corporate assessment [how the council is run] over a three-year period. This assesses the council's ability to lead its local community having clearly identified its needs and set clear and ambitions and priorities."

Before making their judgement they also look at the council's use of resources - does it provide value for money for its residents? - and service performance - how good are the services it provide for the public?

These indicators are what contribute to the 4-star rating while the 'improving strongly' accolade means Tameside is consistently heading in the right direction, effectively improving every year. See p3 for an individual breakdown of the services the council was marked on.

 Improvements

In the latest CPA assessment carried out this year inspectors gauged the council as: 'improving strongly' during 2006 (the highest level of improvement) saying: "Tameside Council has delivered significant improvement to services for local people across its priorities. Overall a performance is better and rising faster than similar councils."

Added to this is the recent findings provided by polls involving both Tameside residents and council staff.

In a recent poll 79 per cent of residents said they were satisfied with their area as a place to live, up 10 per cent on the previous survey and compared to a national average of 72 per cent. While council employee satisfaction results place the borough above all MORI averages for employee satisfaction.

 Leadership

Council Chief Executive, Janet Callender, said: "None of this has happened by chance. Strong political leadership and management, and a constancy of purpose that is backed up by ambitious plans, clear priorities and a focus on outcomes to deliver these underpin Tameside's success.

"Placing employees at the heart of the organisation has delivered significant improvements on staff performance and satisfaction, complemented by workforce well being programme. This initiative has resulted in a 40 per cent reduction in sickness absence, putting us best in Greater Manchester."

 Ambitious

Executive Council Leader, Cllr Roy Oldham added: "Tameside is an ambitious authority with solid achievements and a strong track record of improvement, as demonstrated by a long history of partnership working.

"We like to punch above our weight and shape public service transformation. For example we manage the award-winning £9bn Greater Manchester Pension Fund, the biggest local government pension fund in the country, with the best long-term investment track record. "We also lead, on behalf of the north west, on e-government and efficiency and act as the national lead on Government Connect."