Ealing Council has this week won a landmark case in the High Court, in an attempt to overturn the Audit Commission's 'weak' rating of their performance.

In the first case of its kind, judge Mr Justice Walker, said the Commission had allowed itself to be "dictated" to by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) before dropping the bombshell on Ealing in December last year.

The "weak" categorisation had been treated by as an automatic conseqence after the CSCI gave Ealing's social services department a zero star rating.

And the judge said the Commission had failed to "apply its own mind" to Ealing's overall performance. But for the CSCI's rating, the council's performance would have been categorised as "good".

The judge overturned the Commission's decision and ordered a reconsideration of the case. The Audit Commission have been granted leave to appeal and it is expected that this appeal will be heard as a matter of extreme urgency as its report on the council's performance was to be laid before Parliament before the end of this month.

Ealing Council leader John Cudmore said: "We are obviously very pleased with the decision. However, this is not a victory, but a clear vindication of the Council's position, the services we provide and the hard work and dedication of all our staff.

"When we received our CPA rating in December we contacted the Commission to try and discuss the situation. We were told there was no room for discussion. We then sought legal advice, and a High Court judge ruled there was a case to answer."

A spokesman from the Audit Commission said, "We are studying this judgement carefully and will respond when we have had time to properly consider the implications; we have been given permission to appeal. We remain committed to Strategic Regulation, minimising bureaucracy and maximising the impact on local services and providing value for money for the taxpayer."

February 18th, 2005