CORNWALL BREATHES

The Association of Public Health Observatories (APHO) have published the 2008 health profiles today. You can read the report for Cornwall and for each of its six districts here .

For Cornwall as a whole the APHO report is generally good news. For example, in five of the districts there is a smaller proportion of people living in the most deprived fifth of areas of England than the average for England; and in every district men and women have a higher life expectancy at birth than the average for England.

The APHO report gives information for each district too and although here the news is generally good of course there are difficult spheres where it is less rosy compared to the averages for England. For example, look at the figures in Penwith for index-of-multiple-deprivation, child poverty, and educational achievement.

There is much here to be pleased about. Not complacent, but recognising a record of progress. Cornwall, again, isn’t at the bottom.

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Source: Association of Public Health Observatories website article Welcome to health profiles

ASSESSING CORNWALL

Another report on Cornwall county council, this from the Audit Commission. This is the comprehensive performance assessment (CPA) for 2007 and the council scores three stars and is “improving adequately.” Read it here.

Thirty seven percent of councils have more stars and seventeen percent fewer; seventy nine percent are improving better than Cornwall and none worse.
Here are two recent assessments of Cornwall county council.

Cornwall county council: the parrot is pale

One star Cornwall

None of these is excellent overall. None gets into the Vorsprung Cornwall thread. Note that these are not about Cornwall suffering from external and distant agency; these are assessments of internal works. I’m whistling to keep my spirits up.