Poor overall rating for region

Education is one of the services taken into account

The Yorkshire and Humber region has the highest proportion of councils given a rating of "poor" in a new national survey.

Hull council was put in the lowest bracket of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) along with Wakefield and North East Lincolnshire.

But the commission did reveal that Yorkshire and Humber has no councils officially rated as "weak", unlike other regions in the country.

And there was good news for Kirklees, which was the only authority in the region to be awarded an "excellent" rating.

Disappointing rating

The leader of Wakefield Council, Peter Box, said they would use the results to improve future performance.

"This result reflects where we were in June when the assessment was done, not where we are now," he said.

"We know that we have areas of weakness. The report makes it clear that these are being addressed."

"The assessment shows we still have more to do, but this first and clearly disappointing CPA rating will make us more determined to provide first class public services for the citizens of this district."

15 councils were assessed in the region

Hull City Council's "poor" rating did not surprise them after their heavy criticism from Corporate Governance Inspection (CGI) earlier in the year.

But the authority has stressed they would be continuing with their improvement plan - the next stage is due to be delivered to the audit commission on December 16.

Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott - MP for Hull East - will also receive a copy of the plans.

Council Leader Simon Butterworth said: "Everyone is working hard to respond to the criticisms made in the CGI report.

Improvements needed

"We also need to remember we have moved on since some of the reviews which form part of the CPA were carried out.

"This is a period of change - a lot has been achieved already in a short space of time."

The region's only authority to be rated "excellent" was Kirklees Council, but a number fell into the "good" bracket.

They included Barnsley, Bradford, East Riding, Leeds, North Lincolnshire, Sheffield and York who were singled out for praise in some areas.

Audit Commission Chairman James Strachan said: "Some Yorkshire and Humberside councils can be proud of what they're achieving for local people, but for others, improvement is desperately needed."