First Oneplace assessment published for Norfolk

Monday 14th December 2009

A unique report on how well Norfolk's public services are performing is released today through the new, independent Oneplace website. (embargoed media access on the below link).

Sue Jewkes, Oneplace spokesperson for Norfolk said: 'For most people Norfolk is a great place to live. It is very safe, it has the lowest crime rate in England, has fantastic coastline and countryside and some beautiful towns and villages. But life isn't great for everyone. People in some parts of the county, like Great Yarmouth, Norwich and King's Lynn, aren't as healthy, face higher levels of crime, do less well at school and are more likely to be out of work. And finding somewhere affordable to live continues to be a problem for local residents, especially in the most rural areas.'

Oneplace (www.direct.gov.uk/oneplace) provides an independent overview of local public services. It will help people see how well their local services, including councils, police and the NHS, are serving their needs and how well these services are working together to improve an area's quality of life.

The assessment for Norfolk is one of 152 covering all areas of England. These assessments combine the views of six independent inspectorates to create a single snapshot of an area. They look at how important local issues, such as crime, affordable housing and people's health, are being tackled - and the prospects for improvement.

As well as telling a story about an area, Oneplace sometimes uses green and red flags: green to indicate exceptional performance or improvement that other public services could learn from: red to signal significant concerns about performance and prospects for improvement where more, or something different, needs to be done.

The Norfolk area has a green flag for:
* Your Norfolk Your Decision
* It has no red flags.
* The Oneplace website also includes information on what inspectors and other organisations will do next to help local services tackle their red flag issues.

Alongside the area assessment, the Audit Commission has also published its organisational assessments for councils and fire authorities. These assessments feed into the overall area assessment but focus on the performance and value for money of individual public services, as well as how effectively they work together.

In Norfolk this means that:
* Norfolk County Council performs well
* Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk performs well
* Breckland Council performs adequately
* Broadland District Council performs well
* Great Yarmouth Borough Council performs adequately
* North Norfolk District Council performs adequately
* Norwich City Council performs adequately
* South Norfolk District Council performs well
* Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service performs adequately

More detailed assessments of social care, education and police services can be found on the websites of Care Quality Commission, Ofsted and Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary.

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