The City of Wolverhampton Council was named Local Authority of the Year at The MJ Awards in a gala night at London’s prestige Hilton, Park Lane, which saw winners and highly commended announced in 14 different categories.
Judges praised Wolverhampton 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 City of Wolverhampton was also named winner in three other categories, Most Improved Council, Senior Leadership Team and Excellence in Governance and Scrutiny.
Presenter at the awards gala night on June 15 – which also raised money for Action for Children – was actress Joanna Lumley, who told guests that 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'.
Heather Jameson, editor of The MJ, said: 'It was a truly fabulous night and congratulations to all our winners and particularly City of Wolverhampton.'
City of Wolverhampton Council leader Roger Lawrence said success was independent 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, 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.'
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.'
Winners in the 14 categories were:
Local Authority of the Year: City of Wolverhampton Council
Behaviour Change: Thanet DC
Best Council Services Team: Birmingham City Council
Commercialism in the Property Estate: Breckland DC
Delivering Better Outcomes: Hampshire CC
Senior Leadership Team: City of Wolverhampton Council
Excellence in Community Engagement: Durham CC
Excellence in Governance and Scrutiny: City of Wolverhampton Council
Impact and Learning in Children’s Services: Ealing LBC
Most Improved Council: City of Wolverhampton Council
Innovation in Finance: Aberdeen City Council
Legal Services: Coventry City Council
Reinventing Public Services: Camden LBC and partners
Workforce Transformation: Waverley BC