VAST improvements have been made in Worcestershire's social services since its crisis of two years ago, according to independent inspectors.

But the Joint Review produced by the Audit Commission and the Social Services Inspectorate said the department was only providing a good service to a minority of people in the county.

Inspectors said there were some quality services in place, and were impressed by the enthusiasm of staff.

They said prospects for the department were "excellent."

However, they found there were delays in assessment and significant delays in people getting help.

Assistant review director Malcolm Newsam said there was also a lack of support to help people live in their own homes, with insufficient choice and flexibility.

"There's still a lot of work to do to move to a position where you are serving most people well," he told Worcestershire County Council's cabinet yesterday.

Lead reviewer Sue Talbot said she was pleased to see areas had been targeted where they were under-resourced.

But she said intensive home care was well below average. "This is a critical area to get right," she said.

Ms Talbot said there were many reasons to be optimistic about the future.

"What makes Worcestershire unique and important is its relationship with staff," she said.

"There's a real culture of learning here."

Overspend

In September 2000, troubleshooters had to be drafted in to deal with the department's financial crisis.

It was revealed that it was heading for a £4.6m overspend, just five months into the financial year.

The council's cabinet member for social services, Coun Liz Eyre, said the report was fair and balanced.

"It confirms the substantial progress made by social services in the past two years," she said.

"This takes us away from history and makes us well placed to be one of the top performing councils in the country."

Council chief executive Rob Sykes said the report would help it to improve.

"We were faced with some real difficulties in social services not that long ago," he said.

"It has been a remarkable transformation."

Jennie Bashforth, director of social services, said the review was excellent for the department.

"Getting from excellent prospects to all-round excellent performance and serving all people well will be a long, hard journey," she said.

"But I know that with the quality of staff we have in Worcestershire, we can move onwards and upwards to provide ever better quality services."