New Cabinet hears report on 2011/12 council performance
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A number of successes in education, social work and delivering reductions in youth unemployment were achieved by Midlothian Council, according to a report on the council's work in 2011/12.
The new Cabinet of Midlothian Council considered the performance report at its first meeting in Dalkeith this morning (5 June 2012).
Cllr Lisa Beattie, leader, Midlothian Council, said: "This report shows while we do have a number of things to work on, we are starting from a position where some progress has been made, and there are some achievements this council should be proud of. We know we have areas where we're not doing as well as we should so the challenge now is to roll up our sleeves and get in there and sort it out."
· The council helped older people live in their own homes for longer, while also recognising that when the time comes, people need to have appropriate homes or places to move into. The report highlighted the development of new homes with extra facilities, known as extra care, as part of replacement plans for the Pentland House care home. This work won a prestigious professional award, the 2011 Chair's Award from the Scottish Social Services Council.
· A further 322 council homes were completed in 2011/12, as part of the council's £169m programme to build homes for families.
· In education and children's services, Newbattle High School won a 2012 SOLACE best team award for project to improve educational achievement and attainment, while work on the council's £100m investment in new schools continued.
· The report also noted a 45% reduction in the number of vandalism incidents over the past 4 years, with a 7.5% reduction in the number of school leavers entering unemployment over the last two years.
The report also noted the council's ongoing business
transformation programme, with a number of improvement projects underway to
tackle some areas of under-performance.
