Boost for Southend as Council meets tough targets

A report this month revealed the Council has reached or exceeded more than 85 per cent of its corporate priority targets - its best ever performance.

These results emerged from the Corporate Priority Indicators, which were part of the Council's Corporate Plan for 2009-2012.

Council Leader Councillor Nigel Holdcroft says: "We set ourselves very stretching targets and have worked very hard to meet these.

"The figures show beyond doubt that the Council has made tangible and measurable progress across all service areas.

"Highlights include:

• Reducing the numbers of young people not in education, training or employment, and exceeding our target by 10 per cent, thereby helping our young people.
• Exceeding our targets for dealing with planning applications by up to 10 per cent and putting our performance amongst the best in the country.
• Almost halving our target for the number of households in temporary accommodation, meaning that only 29 households had to use temporary accommodation in the last year.

"However, we must continue to strive to keep up this very commendable rate of change. The added pressures of the current economic climate have moved the goalposts, so we will need to work even harder to keep improving at this same level."

For more information about this media release please call the press desk on 01702-215000 ext 5505 or e-mail media@southend.gov.uk