Two stars – and improving

Adult services for people in Hull are providing a good service to users, a recent assessment has found.
A report by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) – an independent watchdog set up by the government to promote good standards in social care – awarded Hull City Council two out of a maximum three stars for the overall quality of its services.
"The assessment by the Commission reflected the excellent work carried out by staff, particularly throughout the 2007 floods, which had an impact on our services," said Angela Dunn, the council's head of community care.
"Our ambition is to achieve an excellent rating and we are working on plans to improve and transform our services in the year ahead."
The assessment also said there are promising prospects for improving social care in Hull, such as providing extra care accommodation and enabling more people to receive direct payments.
And it identified that services were making good use of innovative technologies to support people as well as effective joint working with partners such as NHS Hull to improve people's health and well-being.
"I am pleased that the council has been awarded two stars in the latest CSCI report," said Cllr Stephen Baker, the portfolio holder for health and voluntary services in the city.
"This recognises the remarkable progress made in spite of the difficulties presented by the floods of 2007.
I'm sure we can make even further progress to achieve an excellent rating."