• Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

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Council in Contention for Eight of the Best!

STOCKTON-on-Tees Borough Council is in the mix for eight prestigious public service awards, just weeks after being named the second best council in the country.

The Council has made the shortlist in each of the following categories of the Association of Public Service Excellence (APSE) Annual Service Awards 2017:

  • Best housing, regeneration or new build initiative
  • Best health and well-being initiative (including social care)
  • Best public/private partnership working initiative
  • Best renewable energy or energy efficiency initiative
  • Best service team of the year – catering service
  • Best service team of the year – transport and fleet maintenance service
  • Best service team of the year – cemetery and crematorium service
  • Best service team of the year – sports, leisure and cultural service

The APSE Service Awards recognise frontline services that councils across the UK deliver to local communities.

Leader of Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council, Councillor Bob Cook, said: “Just last month we were named runner-up in the ‘Local Authority of the Year’ category of the Municipal Journal (MJ) Achievement Awards and whilst our ambitious exciting regeneration plans are going really well, this latest recognition from APSE is a clear endorsement from our peers that we have a strong focus on our frontline services, which are highly-valued by our residents.

“To be shortlisted in so many categories is an achievement in itself, especially at a time when we continue to take on huge budget reductions, which is having an impact on the services we can deliver.”

The Council’s Chief Executive, Neil Schneider, added: “This is more much-deserved recognition for our dedicated staff, who continue to work very hard to provide services to our residents and businesses in an increasingly challenging environment.

“And though it’s very encouraging to receive this kind of recognition, we also have enough self-awareness to know we don’t always get things right, and when that happens we always look closely at what we can do to improve.”

Paul O’Brien, APSE Chief Executive, added: “Local government is currently facing many challenges, and the road ahead remains uncertain. These awards highlight that local councils are still determined to offer their communities excellent local services through developing exciting, innovative projects and new ways of working. These finalists are a credit to their councils and their communities and should be proud of their excellent achievements.”

The winners of each category will be announced in Oxford on Thursday 7 September.

By Emily