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Worthing
West Sussex
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Worthing's Summary Accounts for Year Ended 31 March 2008
Looking Back on the year :
In July 2007 Worthing and Adur Council’s agreed to go ahead with partnership working. This included extending joint refuse and recycling initiatives involving the phased replacement of the vehicle fleet, and the introduction of a new kerbside collection service from September 2007. This and other joint working in respect of Adur and Worthing Services delivered savings of £156k in 2007/08. With other savings from initiatives totalling £378k, total efficiency savings of £534k were achieved in the year - £101k above the target.
The introduction of a joint single officer structure for partnership working from 1 April 2008 will generate further management savings in 2008/09.
What did we spend and how was it financed?
The Council spent £18m on day to day services in 2007/08.
After taking account of fees and charges, the day to day spend was funded by a combination of government grants, business rates, council tax and reserves.
Investment during the year
In addition to its day to day expenditure, the Council also invested £6.2m on new vehicles, equipment, land and buildings. This investment was financed by the asset sales in previous years, loans, and grants.
What are we worth?
The Council’s worth is measured at 31 March 2008 in terms of its net assets. The net assets are the total value of the land, buildings, equipment and stocks the council owns, plus any cash and investments held, less the amounts the council owes.
The Council’s assets and liabilities are financed from accumulated council funds and reserves.
How well did we perform over the year?
The Council had 4 overriding priorities for 2007/08 and a range of measures of performance. Here is a summary of some of our achievements for the year:
Local Authority Parking Enforcement was implemented on 10 September 2007, resulting in average penalty charge notices of 3,500 per month. Although feedback has been mixed, access to parking has distinctly improved.
The council successfully applied to the Community Assets Fund to secure £325,000 to refurbish Maybridge Keystone Club, and has also obtained £200,000 for childrens’ play equipment from the Big Lottery Fund.
The first phase of the new recycling and refuse collection service started on 17 September 2007, and has been well received by the public with recycling rates up from 21% to over 29%.
The council has implemented dedicated phone lines for refuse and recycling, fly tipping and graffiti. The removal rate for graffiti within 24 hours has risen from 60% to 86%.
Working with other agencies, the Council has produced the Crime & Disorder Reduction Partnership Plan 2008-11. This outlines new priorities over the next three years to supplement existing work of three Local Action Teams.
The appointments process for the new management structure was completed in November 2007, with anticipated savings of £140k in 2008/09 as a result of the slimmer management structure.
By March 2008, 87% of incoming calls were answered within 20 seconds, compared to 78% the January before. 90% of incoming calls were resolved at the first point of contact.
The main principles in the Seafront Strategy were approved by Cabinet on 10 March 2008, subject to a six month trial of shared use of the Promenade for pedestrians and cyclists.
Want to know more or comment on the Accounts? – A full report on our performance and the Statement of Accounts 2007/08 are available from the Council’s website at: www.worthing.gov.uk, or e-mail your comments to Accountancy@worthing.gov.uk, or phone 01903-221232.
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