AUDIT inspectors will be looking at every aspect of Pendle Council during the next month as part of an on-going assessment of its performance.

The council is currently undergoing a Comprehensive Performance Assessment, which is how the government judges the council and its services.

In late September it will be visited by a group of inspectors from the Audit Commission. They will assess such things as how well the council is managed, including working with other partnerships, its priorities and plans for the future.

Each servic e will be given a rating from poor to excellent and these will be combined to give one overall judgement of the council. If it receives an 'excellent' rating it could be given more control over the way it operates but if it receives a 'poor' rating it could face various forms of intervention and higher levels of inspection.

Two weeks before inspectors arrive they will be taken on a tour of the borough. In Pendle, officers will be pointing out the contrast between the borough's deprived and affluent areas and the successful outcomes of partnership working.

Inspectors will be attending the full council meeting on August 28, as well as several other meetings during September. This is the first time the council will come under such close scrutiny as the system of CPAs was only introduced this year.