Liberal Democrat leader Cllr John Macklin has offered his congratulations to local party colleagues after the publication of a report that has recognised improvements in the running of Waltham Forest Council.

Waltham Forest Council has been rated as a ‘four star’ Council in results just announced by the Audit Commission as part of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA).

The Council’s zero star rating before 2002, when the Liberal Democrats joined the administration, meant that previous Council leaders were forced to appear before Government officials to explain their poor performance.

Waltham Forest now becomes one of only ten Councils in London to receive the accolade.

Cllr Macklin said that he was pleased at the inspection results, but immediately warned that the Council still had to “up its game”.

Cllr Macklin said:

“There has undeniably been a correlation between the growing number of Liberal Democrat councillors elected by residents in Waltham Forest, our joining of the joint administration in 2002 and the Audit Commission’s award of vastly improved ratings for the Council.

“We firmly believe that our increased representation on the Council and within the administration has raised standards.  We have started to claw back much of the ground that had been lost under previous administrations.

“However, the improvements that the Commission have recognised over the last 6 years must be seen as the start of the recovery work that is still necessary, both in terms of the way the Council is run internally and the services that we deliver on behalf of residents.

“Whilst the very nature of a coalition administration will inevitably bring disagreements and up and downs, this recognition by the Audit Commission of enormously improving standards during our involvement validates the Lib Dems decision to do our best for residents by taking part in the administration rather than by simply shouting from the sidelines.

“Like residents, we recognise that there is still plenty of work to be done in Waltham Forest and we will continue to work hard to ensure that Liberal Democrat values and residents concerns are at the top of the Council’s agenda.”
“We want to take control of the Council in 2010 in order to ensure that this much-needed progress can continue.”