Labour takes Lambeth backwards to one-star rating

3.49.49pm GMT Tue 27th Feb 2007

Lambeth Council has received a 'one star' rating (the lowest level) in the latest review by the Audit Commission. It is now one of only five councils in the country in this category.

The latest Audit Commission report covers 2006 but the judgment is made up of three scores in each council service area:

• Inspectors' reports (Audit Commission, Ofsted etc)

• Council performance statistics and how they compare to other councils

• Opinion surveys of local residents (postal survey run by MORI).

These scores are then weighted to produce scores in each area and an overall star rating.

Confusingly, each of the three elements relates to a different time period. Inspection reports go back up to three years. The performance statistics relate to the financial year 2006.

The public opinion survey differs this year from recent years. This survey measures residents' satisfaction with different council services and is carried out every three years. A new survey was done in autumn 2006, and this survey is the main factor in the one-star performance in Culture, combined with library closures that Labour carried out in 1999. Here is the list of statistics which have dragged down the score in 'culture' - all well below what other councils scored in the survey.

C2 Public library service standards on access

C4 Active borrowers as a percentage of population

C5 Resident satisfaction sport/leisure facilities

C6 Resident satisfaction libraries

C8 Resident satisfaction theatres/concert halls

C11 Public library service standards on stock

C12 Stock level and stock turn

C13 Cost per visit (libraries).

Lib Dems opposed the library closures at the time, realising that Labour's closures would cost the council its rating. Last year the Lib Dems provided millions to improve libraries in the current financial year and so avoided this happening. Back in office, Labour have done nothing with this money and, considering they closed the libraries, have got the result they deserve. Indeed, if it wasn't for Lib Dems campaigning vigorously alongside local people they would have closed more libraries back in 1999 including the South Lambeth Library and the Durning Library in Kennington.

To answer the question "Who gets the credit and who can you blame":

Environment, Housing Benefit and Adults Social Services have all improved in this year's results and they all relate to the investment and hard work of the Liberal Democrats in 2005/6.

The one-star rating is mainly because of poor scores in Culture - which is down to Labour's library closure programme and poor resident satisfaction, measured some time after Labour retook control of the council in May 2006.

So Lambeth residents are now suffering London's highest increase in council tax for London's worst-rated services.

The details are set out in the 'scorecard' at:

http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/cpa/authority.asp?CategoryID=ENGLISH^576^LOCAL-VIEW^AUTHORITIES^104598