Wolverhampton council named 'Local Authority of the Year'

Judges at the Municipal Journal (MJ) Awards 2017 praised the city's council for delivering "consistently excellent services across all key areas" and the council was described as an "outstanding example of modern local government where the resident is at the heart of sound commercial decision-making."

The authority was also named winner in three other categories: Most Improved Council, Senior Leadership Team and Excellence in Governance and Scrutiny.

It was also highly commended in the Impact and Learning in Children's Services category.

Council leader, Councillor Roger Lawrence, said the awards were recognition of the transformation of the authority over recent years.

He added: "Receiving these four fantastic accolades is a testament to the hard work we've invested into putting our residents at the heart of all we do, improving services and making our city a rising star within the local government world.

"I am delighted that we took home the top prize of the night, 'Local Authority of the Year' after being runner-up last year.

"It shows the huge strides we have made on our transformation journey to become a confident, capable council - and I would like to thank all those involved for helping make this possible."

The council's Managing Director, Keith Ireland, said: "To be finalist in seven of the 14 categories and win four of those awards is absolutely fantastic. This is a real achievement for the city council, its residents. employees, councillors and partners."

Presenter at the awards gala night on Thursday was actress Joanna Lumley, famous for her role as Patsy Stone in the sitcom Absolutely Fabulous.

She told guests at London's Hilton Park Lane Hotel the awards were "a key part of the local government calendar, recognising cutting edge services that are helping millions of people right across the UK."

The MJ is the UK’s leading weekly magazine for council chief executives. The award's evening also raised money for Action for Children, a charity which seeks to help disadvantaged children across the UK.

Heather Jameson, editor of The MJ, said: "Judges praised City of Wolverhampton Council for delivering consistently excellent services across all key areas and the council was described as an outstanding example of modern local government where the resident is at the heart of sound commercial decision-making.

"It was a truly fabulous night and congratulations to all our winners and particularly City of Wolverhampton."