Policy and performance

Medway Council is committed to consulting its residents. Democracy is at the heart of the way the council works. Initiatives to consult the community, such as the youth parliament and the citizens' panel, are complemented by the day-to-day involvement of residents as part of everything the council does.

The council sets targets every year with its Performance Plan. This is based on a review of achievements over the past 12 months and looks ahead to plans and aspirations for Medway in the coming year. The plan is a legal requirement under the Local Government Act 1999 as part of the best value criteria laid down by the Government.

How well the council actually performs is measured by the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA). It was introduced by the Government in 2001 and applies to all councils.

Councils are judged on how well they run and how well the main services perform. The categories are: excellent, good, fair, weak and poor. The rating a council achieves triggers greater financial and procedural freedoms for good performers and more inspection, regulation or even loss of control over services for weaker councils.

The Freedom of Information Act also imposes a number of obligations on councils and Medway Council is committed to meeting them. Among the provisions are the public’s right to access the wide range of council information and a requirement to produce schedules detailing what types of information will be available.

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