All change in Hertfordshire during 2008?
This report has seen many changes since 1992 and whilst progress often requires change, the county has typically enjoyed high employment and growth during this period. Although last year’s report exposed potential difficulties, many changes still appear unexpected and surprising.
2008 saw a mid-year change in employment, which undoubtedly will affect results in economy, housing and development and this will have caught many out. Indeed, some national statistics were unable to keep pace and could not be included in this report. Water also exhibited unwelcome surprise results, but waste results brought a more pleasant surprise. This highlights the need for continual monitoring and production of an accessible tool, such as this report, to highlight the changes and plan a more sustainable future for our communities.
The new National Indicators and the future of Quality of Life indicators
In October 2007 a new set of indicators for local authorities and local authority partnerships were announced. In April these were finalised and the other, e.g. “best value”, performance indicators, were abolished. These new indicators are now the only means of measuring central government’s national priorities. The aim of these indicators is to strengthen the incentives for closer partnership working to deliver more joined-up and effective outcomes. This means local partners, like Hertfordshire’s Primary Care Trusts and Constabulary, should provide a more comprehensive service by sharing performance responsibilities.
So, how will this affect the Quality of Life Report and the indicators we publish? We have carefully considered the reasons for reporting the new indicators against our current indicators and the high value our readers place on the use of a consistent set of indicators. Since this report has a 16 year reporting history, for which it is uniquely renowned and widely accessible over the internet, this is not something we want to relinquish. The printed report is also valued for its compact form. Attempting to squeeze 198 indicators into a concise document would mean sacrificing its other strength. The sheer volume of information that is being collected is also subject to a range of deadlines which would not all fit in with the production schedule for this report that provides an annual snapshot.
We have therefore kept this report in the format that has proved so popular and aim to introduce the new indicators via the website as they become available.
Hertfordshire needs to become more active. It’s making a big effort to achieve this and will host the Paralympic Games in 2012.