Access to Services Audit Commission Inspection Report

Inspection report July 2004 Access to Services Nottinghamshire County Council p 2 Nottinghamshire County Council - Access to Services Contents Summary 3 Background 3 Scoring the service 3 Recommendations 4 Report 6 Context 6 The locality 6 The council 6 The council’s best value review 7 How good is the service? 8 Are the aims clear and challenging? 8 Does the service meet these aims? 8 How does the performance compare? 12 Summary 14 What are the prospects for improvement to the service? 15 Summary 19 Appendices 21 Documents reviewed 21 Reality checks undertaken 21 List of people interviewed 22 Nottinghamshire County Council - Access to Services p 3 Summary Background 1 Nottinghamshire County Council is the eleventh largest local authority in the UK, situated in the East Midlands. The population is 750,000 of which 4.35 per cent are from minority ethnic communities compared to a national average of 13 per cent. 2 The county has a diverse economy including healthcare, pharmaceuticals, engineering, textiles and clothing, food, professional and financial services. There has been a decline in the traditional industries and a shift toward the service sector. Unemployment is below the national average, at 1.9 per cent and wage levels are higher than the regional average although lower than the all England figure. There is a wide range of affluence and deprivation within the county with some areas ranked in the top ten ...