Inverclyde shortlisted for best UK council
INVERCLYDE Council has been named as a finalist in the Council of the Year category at the prestigious LGC Awards 2023.
The council has today, Monday 20 February 2023, been shortlisted for the prize by organisers the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) and is the only Scottish local authority in the running for the honour.
The awards recognise excellence in local government throughout the UK.
The council's entry highlighted a range of interventions and investments the council has put in place to support the community, the work of councillors and staff and the resilience and community work across the entire area.
A record number of entries were submitted across all categories this year and the finalists were chosen by a panel of judges following a ‘vigorous’ first stage of judging.
The council’s submission highlighted its success in education, response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and support for residents to cope with the cost of living crisis, including a one-off £350 payment last year to some 10,000 low income households and financial and practical support being offered through the Warm Hand of Friendship initiative.
Inverclyde’s entry also references achievements including the local authority’s completion of an unprecedented investment of over £270 million in its schools estate, how anti-poverty measures have led to child poverty levels decreasing from 23.8 per cent to 18.2 per cent and bucking the national trend, that Inverclyde is one of just two areas in the UK where every school achieved UNICEF ‘Rights Respecting School’ status, and positive reports from various public sector inspectorates.
Councillor Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council, who was named the 2022 Scottish Local Politician of the Year by The Herald newspaper in November, said: “As a council, we continue to punch above our weight across Scotland and the UK in delivering quality services for our residents but also pushing the boundaries of what local government can do with very limited resources to support people, particularly the most vulnerable in our society.
“This is worthy recognition for the entire council workforce for continuing to achieve results time and again no matter what challenges are thrown at them but also to the people of this area who make Inverclyde the caring, compassionate and resilient place it is.”
Louise Long, chief executive of Inverclyde Council, said: “I’m amazed day in, day out by the work of colleagues across all council services alongside our partners to make Inverclyde the best place possible for the people who live and work here.
“We have a shared goal of delivering for our residents and making Inverclyde a better place and to be named as a finalist among other councils from across the UK is worthy recognition for the efforts of all our staff, who I would like to thank and congratulate.”
A panel of judges will visit all finalists ahead of the awards ceremony on Thursday 8 June 2023 in London where each council will give a presentation before the winner is announced.
The Council of the Year award will go to the council which has the most learning and inspiration to offer the rest of local government.
The winner should demonstrate underlying sustained strong performance, innovation and excellent leadership across the broad spectrum of its work.
Judges will be asked to disregard any advantages a council has based on its size or location, and they will not award Council of the Year based on the scale of the Covid challenge a council has faced.
The winner will be chosen on the basis of the delivery of strong outcomes, the quality of the council’s community leadership, and the evidence that the council is doing the best for its area, all in response to the specific challenge the council has faced in all areas of its work.
Judges will also look for qualities including resilience, compassion, inclusion and adaptability, as well as the quality of the council’s cooperation with partners.
For more information about the LGC Awards, visit the awards website at awards.lgcplus.com.