How we assess councils

Find out how we assess councils and come to a decision about their star rating.

We used to look at how a council does things but now we also look at whether these things are working well for the people who use services.

The Government asked people who use services about what they want from services.

From all the information, they came up with seven main areas that people would like from services. We call these outcomes.

We use the outcomes to decide how well councils are doing.

The outcomes are:

1. Better health and well being
   Being as healthy as you can be and getting good health services
2. Better quality of life
   Having a good life
3. Making a positive contribution
   Being involved in your local community and helping make policies
4. Choice and control
   Having choice and making your own decisions
5. Freedom from discrimination and harassment
   Having equal access to services and not being treated unfairly
6. Economic well being
   Having enough money to buy the things you need
7. Personal dignity and respect
   Keeping safe, clean and comfortable and being treated as individuals

Measuring the outcomes

We have looked at the things we think a council should be doing to prove they are meeting the outcomes.

And we have decided what we think an excellent, good, adequate and poor council would be doing.

• Read examples of some of the outcomes and what an excellent council would do

We collect information over the year on how well the council is doing and look at the outcomes for adults using services.

We make an overall judgement on how well the council is delivering outcomes and what capacity the council has to improve.

These judgements lead to an overall star rating.

Find out more

• Read an easy to read guide to how we assess councils
• Search council star ratings: how well is your council doing?