Report to the People
6th June 2005
Worst
Value
The unprecedented scale of managerial
and political failure revealed by the Accounts Commission’s damning report on
Inverclyde Council is outrageous and concerning, but, I’m sorry to say, not
altogether surprising.
Were you amazed to learn that
Councillors and officials lack the basic skills to deliver best value?
Were you astounded that they dither over decisions, haven’t bothered to
find out what local residents need and ignore performance indicators?
Didn’t think so.
That we expect nothing less
from our local authority is perhaps the saddest reflection on how low it has
sunk.
Almost everyone agrees that
the current situation can’t continue. So
what’s to be done?
For a start, the vital
regeneration work which the Accounts Commission warns is in jeopardy must be
safeguarded. I will therefore
continue to press for the creation of an Inverclyde Urban Regeneration Company
as a matter of urgency.
Secondly, I know from bitter
experience that it’s always frontline staff who pay the price for management
failings. And when frontline staff
suffer, so do those who rely on the services they provide.
That cannot be allowed to happen - especially as the Accounts Commission
recognises that it’s not the hardworking staff on the ground who are the
problem.
The guilty parties are those
at the top who have blithely presided over this failure.
They should be accepting their responsibilities and getting a grip.
The Accounts Commission, however, are certainly not convinced that
they’re up to this task and, I’m afraid, neither am I.
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