As colleagues in local government will well know, the challenges of delivering high quality public services in a system with reducing funding and increasing demand can mean it's hard to find time to stop and reflect on achievements. But today's Impower Index report is one of those opportunities, and I'm grateful to them for their forensic analysis and independent reporting. It really does show local government for the hard working, creative and resilient sector it is.
Suffolk entering the Top 10 for the first time, as the highest-performing county council, is no mean feat. Like many, it is well known that we are on a significant improvement journey with SEND and across children and young people services. This work has been led by our excellent executive director of children and young people, Sarah-Jane Smedmor, her team and with significant financial and political backing by Cabinet. We've been clear that improving the services we provide to families is our number one priority, and this is what we've done. In practice, we now have 76% more staff in our SEND teams since February 2024, and the results are evident with the number of Education, Health and Care Plans completed within 20 weeks now above the national average. This is just one part of a much bigger improvement picture in Suffolk. I'm under no illusion that everything is where we need it to be, but every day, with the commitment of the political leadership, we strive to do better for Suffolk families and children and that is what we are doing.
