Blackburn with Darwen Council was named tonight as the Local Authority of the Year at The MJ Local Government Achievement Awards.

The panel of independent judges said ‘the breadth of the council's achievements for its communities is outstanding regardless of socio-economic and fiscal challenges. This is underpinned by strong, consistent and humble leadership and an unwavering mission to put the customer first.'

The awards gala night at London's  Hilton Hotel, Park Lane  saw winners announced in 16 different categories across a wide range of council services. They included teams providing innovative integrated health and care, cultural services, housing, poverty-reduction, digital transformation, highways management, children's services, communications, homecare, revenue-generation and public health. Top teams and the workforce were also celebrated.

Heather Jameson, editor of The MJ, said: ‘It was a wonderful night for winners as well as finalists. As always it was a difficult choice by our award judges as the entries were so impressive. They just illustrate the hard work and commitment of councils' front line service teams.'

Winners were: Rushcliffe BC (Best Commercial Council), Waltham Forest LBC (Best Council Services Team), Barking & Dagenham LBC, (Best Social Housing Initiative), St Helens MBC (Care and Health Integration), Salford City Council (Delivering Better Outcomes), Rochdale MBC (Digital Transformation), Hounslow LBC (Highways Management), North Yorkshire CC (Impact and Learning in Children's Services), Brighton and Hove City Council (Innovation in Communications), Shropshire Council (Innovation in Finance), Angus Council (Innovation in Property and Asset Management), Norfolk CC (Public Health Improvement), Salford City Council (Senior Leadership Team), Dorset Councils Partnership (Workforce Transformation).

There was also a new category, Rising Star, whose winner was Matthew Biggs from Staffordshire CC.

See details at awards.themj.co.uk