County Council Performance and Budget Information goes live on website

As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, a range of performance and budgetary information has today been made public via the County Council's website. These pages will inform residents about performance against the four Key Areas of Focus within our Corporate Plan, as well as providing information about the Council's budget and how money is spent.

We are also making the County Council's Corporate and Directorate Balanced Scorecards publically available for the first time. The County Council's Balanced Scorecard is the council's key tool for performance management and it is used by Cabinet and Chief Officers to assess progress against the council's Corporate Plan. The Scorecard is tailored to Worcestershire, and provides a consistent approach for supporting transparent performance management, from a whole council level right through to individual units and teams. The Scorecard tool supports all Officers in managing the performance of their part of the council.

The pages sit within the 'About the Council' section of the website, and can be accessed via the following link:

http://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/cms/performance.aspx

The information contained in the 2012/13 Council Tax Leaflet, (sent to every household in Worcestershire) is detailed on the website including how your Council Tax was spent over the last 12 months, and where it will be spent during the next year and details performance against the Corporate Plan.                                    

The information relates to the period up to September 2011 (Q2 2011/12), and there will be an update on the website every six months. It is recognised that there has been a delay in publishing the Q2 data, which was due to target setting for the Corporate Plan measures. Data for March 2012 (Q4 2011/12) is due to be published in June.

This content has been designed through direct consultation (focus groups and Worcestershire Viewpoint) with the public.

Cllr Adrian Hardman, Leader of Worcestershire County Council, said: "The Balanced Scorecard represents a very significant change for the County Council. It is a new performance management system that is far more efficient than a number of old systems which it replaces. I believe it is vital in order to support the council being transformed to deliver Better Outcomes and meet the priorities of the new Corporate Plan, 'Worcestershire: Fit for the Future', which is at the heart of providing continually better services to our residents and businesses."

Trish Haines, Chief Executive of Worcestershire County Council, said: "I'm delighted that the Council wide and Directorate level scorecards are now available on the council's website for the first time. This is a good example of the way the County Council is working towards more transparency and openness with our residents."

"The Balanced Scorecard has been based on feedback from residents and following national best practice to ensure that the information presented is relevant to the people of Worcestershire. We will develop the scorecard over time so that it continues to help us deliver better services. We hope people will take the chance to scrutinise how we are doing."

If you have any comments or feedback please email: balancedscorecard@worcestershire.gov.uk.

This page was last reviewed 2 April 2012 at 17:19.
The page is next due for review 29 September 2013.