Ealing London Borough Council v The Audit Commission for Local Authorities & Anor

(Transcript of the Handed Down Judgment of Smith Bernal Wordwave Limited, 190 Fleet Street London EC4A 2AG Tel No: 020 7421 4040, Fax No: 020 7831 8838 Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)

Andrew Arden QC and Jonathan Manning (instructed by Eversheds) for the Claimant Richard Gordon QC and Maya Lester (instructed by R.Hamilton) for the Defendant Solicitor for Audit Commission ____________________

1.1 The following operating policies are intended to guide Social Services Inspectorate (SSI) Inspectors/Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) business relationship managers and other staff through the annual cycle of assessment of councils with social services responsibilities, leading to the judgements that underpin published performance (star) ratings. They have been agreed between SSI and the shadow CSCI for the 2004 performance assessment cycle.

� support effective performance management of social services in local councils;

� provide annual independent judgements of the performance of local councils with social services responsibilities;