The main way the performance of councils is measured is through a special inspection called the Comprehensive Performance Assessment carried out by the Audit Commission.

• View our published performance information

Every council is assessed once every four to five years. Following the inspection the Audit Commission issues a judgement on how well the council is performing.  In 2003 we were assessed as being a Good Council where the possibilities are Poor, Weak, Fair, Good or Excellent.

Each year we must produce a document called the Annual Report (formerly Best Value Performance Plan), which gives a broad picture of our performance over the past year and what we intend to do over the next 12 months. This document reports on the work we are doing with partners - for example the police, county council, businesses or health authority - to improve services for local people. It shows which services we have provided well and where we need to improve in future.

For further information on performance please view our Annual Report webpage and our Performance Indicator Results.