Council bosses are star struck

Worcestershire County Council is one of only three West Midland authorities to be awarded the top score of four-stars by the Government's independent watchdog, the Audit Commission, under the new system for rating local authorities.

Under the comprehensive performance assessment (CPA) scheme, all county and unitary authorities have been given a star rating from zero up to four covering all areas of services.

Worcestershire was already in the top rating band for councils having achieved an 'excellent' under the old scoring system. This year, the Audit Commission introduced what it called The Harder Test for local authorities in a bid to encourage councils to keep improving their services.

It's a test the county council has passed with flying colours, but councillors and officers believe there is still plenty of room for improvement.

Council leader Councillor George Lord, from Marlbrook who represents Alvechurch for the Conservatives, said: "I'm highly delighted with the results. It just shows how well a low-funded authority can perform and that's a credit to all staff and councillors.

"It's all about value for money and our assessment scores show that's exactly what we deliver. This is better than being excellent under the old scoring system. It doesn't mean we're perfect, however and we can still get better."

Rob Sykes, the authority's chief executive, added: "We have passed The Harder Test and that is a tribute to the hard work and dedication of staff throughout the authority. We are the only county council to get top score on value for money and that says a lot."