Town is streets ahead
ONE of the things that Hartlepool has been criticised for in the past is not shouting about our achievements enough.
Personally, I'm not particularly convinced that this is a bad thing. An outsider looking in would be astounded at how far the town has come over recent years and certainly as a council, we have been performing at the very highest level for some time.
It is nice to be recognised for our achievements from time to time, however the whole ethos around working for Hartlepool Borough Council is not to rest on our laurels and always be striving to improve on what we already do.
The very size and nature of Hartlepool means that virtually everyone who works in the public sector and much of the private and voluntary sector knows everyone else.
People know where to go and who to speak to if they need something sorting out or have an issue with a particular organisation.
More often than not, due to economies of scale, people's actual jobs cover a much wider scope than their job description would suggest which makes it much easier to work in partnership between organisations.
The vast majority of people who work in the public sector in Hartlepool actually live in the town so they have a vested interest in making sure they make a difference to their own area as part of their job.
The most important key to Hartlepool council's success, and I think this is probably reflected in the character of every Hartlepudlian, is the straight talking and practicality of its workforce.
From the top to the bottom, everyone just gets on with their job rather than shouting and making a fuss about it.
People are dedicated to what they do, they do stuff then move on to doing more stuff. It is amazing how much actually gets done and the results that are achieved.
I have seen many councils who talk about an idea for months, maybe test a small part of the idea, talk about it for a few more months then still can't decide whether to implement the idea or not and I must say, the politicians are usually the ones who are most guilty of this.
I'd be lying if I said Hartlepool was completely free of needless and pointless meetings, it is local Government after all, however we are miles ahead of most places and for every example of the afore mentioned beaurocracy, there are a hundred examples of where common sense and practicality has won the day.
This is probably why we have been criticised in the past, because people haven't quite understood how we work in Hartlepool.
Many observers are extremely impressed with what they find here and urge us to share our practices with others.
This, of course, has its downfalls. The more Hartlepool is held up as an example of best practice for this or an exemplar for that or a beacon for the other, the more other councils want to come and see what we do and the more we are expected to talk at national conferences or visit other councils.
There is nothing wrong with sharing our practices with others or even shouting about and enjoying our achievements from time to time, however, when staff and officers are being dragged around the country spreading the word or spending a day hosting a visit from another council, we are not being financially compensated for their time and it is taking them away from their daily duties.
It is because of this, we don't particularly court any accolades.
That said, we seem to have had a splurge of interest over the last few weeks.
A team of civil servants came up from London to see how we were dealing with the credit crunch. We were one of five local authorities chosen and I think they went away pretty pleased with what they saw. Let's see what, if anything, emerges from that visit.
We have just won a couple of national awards in the area of human resources and, as well as that, a team of experts visited the council last week assessing our readiness to become a pilot council for staff development.
Earlier this week, I received notice of an accolade of which I am particularly proud and one which is pertinent to every resident in Hartlepool.
We have been awarded exemplar status for integrating neighbourhood management and neighbourhood policing and, at a conference on Monday, the country's leading expert in this field said it works in Hartlepool better than anywhere else he has seen.
Now this may not seem too impressive on the surface of it, however the recent Flanagan review on policing and the policing green paper came up with a number of recommendations, most of which we have already been doing for years.
It basically means what we are doing on the ground with regards to neighbourhood policing and neighbourhood management is right and the results speak for themselves.
Every year I say that crime is the lowest in has ever been and it is still dropping. This year is no different and what is even more encouraging is that people's fear of crime is also lower than it has ever been.
The public see a uniformed presence on the streets, they now have the confidence to talk to the authorities and provide vital information to help tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.
The police, the council and other authorities are providing better feedback to the public on what is happening so the public feel that their information is valued.
All of these ingredients make for safer streets and neighbourhoods and while we are happy acknowledge the national recognition, the real success is happening on the streets of Hartlepool.
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Weather for Hartlepool
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
Heavy sleet
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light sleet showers
Temperature: -0 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South
