Three Staffordshire councils are in the running for prestigious local government awards.
Lichfield District Council, Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council and Staffordshire County Council have all been announced as finalists in different categories at the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards 2024.
The awards ceremony is dubbed the “premier event of the local government calendar” and this year’s judges are said to have been “very impressed” with the “extremely high standard” of entries.
Lichfield District Council is hoping to take the title of Most Improved Council.
Leader Councillor Doug Pullen said: “I’m delighted the council has been shortlisted in the ‘Most Improved Council’ category at this year’s LGC Awards. It is a testament to the progress we have made to date.
“We’ve improved the way the council is structured and led and have worked hard to create a strong ‘can do’ ethos across the workforce.
“Our officers have embraced these changes and we’re benefitting enormously from this internally.
“Of course, the most important beneficiaries of our improvement must be our residents.
“We have more to do; we want to be a council our residents are proud of. We know which services still need improvement and our Chief Executive is focussed on ensuring those services improve.”
Newcastle Borough Council’s vulnerability and housing team is shortlisted for the Small Team of the Year award. Staff work one-to-one with vulnerable residents and resolve problems with other agencies where needed.
Councillor Gill Heesom, the council’s Cabinet member for Community Safety and Wellbeing, said: “Staff do excellent work for the community, far from the spotlight, so I’m delighted they have been shortlisted for this award.
“Their work makes a big difference to those involved. By identifying the issues and working through the obstacles we have had some real successes which has enabled people to get on with living safer, healthier lives.”
Staffordshire County Council has been shortlisted in the Environmental Services category for its warmer homes scheme.
Meanwhile, the former leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council, Councillor Abi Brown has said she is “surprised, humbled, proud” to have been shortlisted for the Outstanding Individual Contribution award as part of the Local Government Association Conservative Group.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 12 June.
