Jules Pipe describes Hackney's ‘long, hard slog' from basket case to two-star authority revealed in the latest CPA figures published this week This year represents a major milestone for us at Hackney LBC, as we are elevated to two-star status. It's been a long, hard slog to get here from the political, managerial and financial chaos of the late 1990s. However, what two stars will mean for us is that we have earned the right to be treated, and regarded, like any other improving council. Our direction of travel statement says that in some areas, we are ‘among the fastest-improving councils in the country'. In many areas, we are already highly rated. We are scored three for children's services, and three for adults. I have just frozen our council tax for the second year running, with no cuts to services for the fifth year running, and made substantial investment in schools, recycling, leisure and affordable housing. We have taken no new borrowing for five years, but still have been able to make significant capital investments in projects as varied as replacing our entire waste fleet with the latest, greenest trucks, to reopening our 1930s Olympic-sized lido, which was closed for 20 years. Our IPSOS Mori polling shows that net satisfaction with the council has gone up by 50 percentage points since 2000. Our residents are measurably happier with us and – with record falls in crime – the area in which they live. I think it's fair to say, however, that CPA scores don't mean much to residents. Last May's London election results showed no correlation between a council's rating and voting behaviour. Yet, it can still mean a lot to a local authority because reputation among peers can help make or break an organisation. In addition, CPA tests get harder, and I have never witnessed the alleged ‘increased incentive' that raising the bar mid-game is supposed to bring. Being told you're getting better while being rated worse undoubtedly saps morale. Over the years, the frequent damnation by the Audit Commission report belied the foundations being laid, as the rating would also have to reflect the ‘low base from which Hackney was working'. The resulting bad publicity always made vital recruiting harder and more expensive, yet over the years, some of the best people in local government have risen to the challenge, developed their careers here, and served the people of Hackney. We still have a very long way to go. And when Ben Page presented our Mori/BVPI results to us this month, he quoted wartime leader Winston Churchill, saying: ‘This is the end of the beginning'. But, we have our two stars, and are potentially heading for three this December – if just a couple more boxes are ticked under our use of resources score. The Hackney story shows that even in a borough as challenging as this, and with the extraordinary circumstances we faced in 2000, political stability, sound financial management and hard work can win out, ultimately raising our residents' quality of life. And whatever our star rating, that's the thing we are all here to do. n Jules Pipe is the directly-elected mayor of Hackney LBC
