Council leader slams ‘total nonsense’ data in The Times authority rankings

The leader of Wiltshire Council has branded the data used in a national newspaper article which ranked the council at the bottom of all local authorities in England as “total nonsense”.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, May 7, Cllr Richard Clewer claimed the ranking made “an absolute mockery” of the Office for Local Government (Oflog), which “has no idea what it’s measuring”.

The Times used data submitted to Oflog by 318 councils across the country and ranked Wiltshire Council 298th out of 318 – meaning just 5.3% of local authorities perform worse than Wiltshire.

Speaking about the article in the meeting, Cllr Clewer claimed the data was not “designed to be used for ranking”.

He said: “The Government recently set up Oflog to try and provide an early warning and assistance mechanism for councils experiencing problems, particularly financial problems.”

He added: “The principle is good, but if they’re not going to use functional data, then I have absolutely no idea how they’re ever going to get there.”

Councilor Clewer concluded: “They’ve made themselves look really stupid, they’ve fallen at the first fence and if they’re going to succeed in a role that I think is very important nationally, they have to understand more well how they will use the information and how they will bring the information together.”

The Times ranking placed the council 188th for finance, 236th for waste collection and management, 275th for roads, 314th for social care and 301st for efficiency in handling planning applications.

After the article was published, Wiltshire Council sent a letter to Oflog, signed by both Councilor Clewer and Chief Executive Terence Herbert.

The letter described the analysis as “selective, sloppy and lacking context”.

It said: “Wiltshire Council has been a strong supporter of Oflog but we are sad to say, as one of the highest performing local authorities in the country, our confidence in Oflog is now weakened.”

It also noted: “We expect Oflog to strongly reject the article and analysis as it begins the journey of rebuilding the sector’s faith and trust in this vital public resource.”

Oflog has been contacted for comment.