Our latest corporate performance report highlights how we’re making Barnsley a safer place to live, work and learn.

Incidents of anti-social behaviour across the borough fell by five per cent this quarter (July to September 2022), thanks in part to great work by our Neighbourhood Policing Teams.

These teams are a central part of our borough-wide Joining Forces initiative, which sees Barnsley Council and South Yorkshire Police working together to help keep people safe.

This is just one of the fantastic achievements highlighted as part of our latest performance report, which sets out our progress in making Barnsley the place of possibilities.

These reports are a great way to make sure we’re on track to achieve our ambitions for the borough and identify any areas needing more attention or improvement.

Our quarter two performance report will be reviewed at Cabinet on Wednesday 14 December. Here are just some of the highlights:

• We’ve reached our annual target for private sector jobs created, with successful inward investments like Evri helping to create over 1,600 jobs this quarter.
• Our museums and outdoor sites saw another record-breaking quarter, with exciting events helping to attract over 500,000 visitors this quarter.
• Footfall in our town centre continued to grow, with over 2.1 million visits between July and September. New openings at The Glass Works and our exciting calendar of town centre events are bringing more people into Barnsley.
• Safeguarding concerns reported by a friend, family member or neighbour rose massively this quarter to 48, showing how safeguarding is everybody’s business.
• We’re above the regional and national averages for families taking up our free childcare offer for two-year-olds, helping give children the best start in life.
• 8% of household waste was diverted from landfill this quarter, helping us achieve our Sustainable Barnsley ambitions.
• 98% of our early years settings are rated good or outstanding, meaning we’re above the national and regional benchmarks.

Our latest performance report also identified areas where more work is needed, including bringing down suicide rates in the borough. While our current rates are lower than last year, we’re committed to improving further in this area through our zero-suicide ambition.

Councillor Robin Franklin, Cabinet Spokesperson for Core Services, said: “In Barnsley, we have bold ambitions for what we want our borough to be, making it a place which fosters and grows ambition for years to come. Our latest performance report highlights the fantastic progress we’re making towards our vision for Barnsley.

“From working together to help keep people safe to a record-breaking quarter for our museums, there’s a lot to celebrate. I would like to thank our employees and partners for all their hard work to make Barnsley the place of possibilities.”

You can read more about our quarter two corporate performance report in our cabinet papers. Keep an eye on our social media channels for our performance report animations, showing how we’re making Barnsley the place of possibilities.