By David Williams
The Audit Commission is planning to cut 100 jobs over the current financial year as it adopts a less intensive approach to regulation.
The watchdog is now discussing the proposed redundancies with unions.
The cull follows a reduction in the commission’s inspection workload after the introduction of Comprehensive Area Assessments in April.
Chief executive Steve Bundred pledged to make the regulator ‘exemplary in our commitment to providing value for money… practising what we preach over new ways of working’.
The commission is also planning to rebrand the CAA as ‘oneplace’ in a bid to make the system ‘friendlier’ to service users.
Oneplace will have its own website, to be launched on December 10.
An Audit Commission spokeswoman said the site would provide ‘jargon-free, easy-to-read narratives on every place in England’.
The site will be accessible via the Directgov site, which has 18 million visits per month, and also via the inspectorates whose work feeds into the CAA, including Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.
Bundred said he hoped the oneplace site would become the first choice for those seeking independent information on services in their local area.
The CAA aims to evaluate all services available in a local area, including those provided by police, health trusts and councils. It replaces Comprehensive Performance Assessments, which gave councils star ratings for specific services.
The Audit Commission is planning to cut 100 jobs over the current financial year as it adopts a less intensive approach to regulation.
The watchdog is now discussing the proposed redundancies with unions.
The cull follows a reduction in the commission’s inspection workload after the introduction of Comprehensive Area Assessments in April.
Chief executive Steve Bundred pledged to make the regulator ‘exemplary in our commitment to providing value for money… practising what we preach over new ways of working’.
The commission is also planning to rebrand the CAA as ‘oneplace’ in a bid to make the system ‘friendlier’ to service users.
Oneplace will have its own website, to be launched on December 10.
An Audit Commission spokeswoman said the site would provide ‘jargon-free, easy-to-read narratives on every place in England’.
The site will be accessible via the Directgov site, which has 18 million visits per month, and also via the inspectorates whose work feeds into the CAA, including Ofsted and the Care Quality Commission.
Bundred said he hoped the oneplace site would become the first choice for those seeking independent information on services in their local area.
The CAA aims to evaluate all services available in a local area, including those provided by police, health trusts and councils. It replaces Comprehensive Performance Assessments, which gave councils star ratings for specific services.
