2007-2008 - Annual Audit and Inspection Letter - Walsall MBC v1.1

Annual Audit and Inspection Letter Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council Audit 2007/08 April 2009 Contents Key messages 3 Purpose, responsibilities and scope 5 How is Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council performing? 6 The audit of the accounts and value for money 15 Looking ahead 22 Closing remarks 23 Status of our reports The Statement of Responsibilities of Auditors and Audited Bodies issued by the Audit Commission explains the respective responsibilities of auditors and of the audited body. Reports prepared by appointed auditors are addressed to non-executive directors/members or officers. They are prepared for the sole use of the audited body. Auditors accept no responsibility to: • any director/member or officer in their individual capacity; or • any third party. Key messages Key messages 1 Walsall Council is improving well. Good progress has been made in priority areas and corporately the Council continues performing well overall. Effective leadership is enabling a focus on reducing inequalities in the borough towards the vision of making Walsall a good place to live, work and invest. 2 The extent of improvement compared to other councils is good. It has effective leadership, tangible ambitions, clear achievements, and priorities which reflect the needs of service users and communities. Key improvements have been made against its priorities, and its public pledges. 3 The Council is maintaining good children’s services and ...