Manchester praised in Comprehensive Area Assessment report

A report assessing how Manchester’s public services are performing has been published today.

The Comprehensive Area Assessment (CAA) is a new way of assessing how local public services and public bodies work together to meet the needs of the people they serve.

Overall the assessment of Manchester is very positive and good progress is being made by Manchester Partnership, the body led by Manchester City Council which brings together health, education, transport, police, local people and others to tackle problems and make improvements that will affect and transform the lives of residents across the city.

Green flags and red flags are issued to signal how well public bodies are equipped to tackle issues both now and in the future   

A green flag, which indicates exceptional performance or improvement that other public services could learn from, was awarded to the city for its work tackling gun crime and gang violence particularly with regard to preventing young people most at risk of getting involved with gangs.

It was also praised for the success in engaging with the community and the overall impact in protecting young people and the wider community.
The CAA also recognised that Manchester remained a thriving city and was a crucial location for jobs and prosperity. With the city's business base increasing by nearly 5% in the last decade, it recognised Manchester had a strong city economy despite the recession.

The report said Manchester was leading the way through new initiatives such as Helping Hands and the Timebank scheme to help residents and businesses weather the economic downturn.

However the work that Manchester has been doing to reduce school absences has not had the required impact and Manchester has received a red flag, as a warning that improvements are needed. Initiatives have made some impact and there has been a steady reduction in absences over the last three years but more needs to be done to ensure that improvement is achieved city wide and not just in specific schools.

Manchester still has high levels of deprivation and tackling health related issues is a priority for partners.  While residents' health is improving, it is from a low base and the council and health services are working closely to prevent ill health rather than treating the effects of it.

More Manchester residents are happy with their lives than last year and more people feel that they can influence decisions in their local area than elsewhere in Greater Manchester.

Previously run-down areas are being transformed, said the report, and it recognised signs of success, such as resident satisfaction and better housing, which is attributed to strong civic leadership.

Sir Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council said: "We welcome this report as an assessment of how we are meeting the high standards that we set ourselves.

"We are very pleased with the green flag we have received that reflects the work of the Crime and Disorder Partnership.

"We know that there is always a great deal to do and we are working hard with our partner agencies to make Manchester a place where people increasingly choose to live, bring up their children, work and invest.

"We particularly recognise the importance of making citywide improvements in school attendance at all schools and will be looking to schools and parents in the coming year to support us in the redoubling of efforts that we shall be making to improve this.

"Our vision for Manchester is of a world class city but we understand that there are some huge challenges facing us - we are not complacent and this report ensures that we focus on those areas that need improving and allows us to build on those areas where we are doing well."

Alongside the CAA, the Audit Commission has also published an organisational assessment of Manchester City Council and for this the Council has received a positive score rating of 3 out of a possible 4 (4 being the highest score for local authorities performing excellently) for the way in which it manages performance, meaning that the Council is performing well.
The CAA report is available on a new independent website http://oneplace.direct.gov.uk