Norwich City Council has scooped ‘council of the year 2014' at the Improvement and Efficiency Social Enterprise's (iESE) fifth annual awards.

The accolade for improving service delivery while reducing costs was bestowed at a fully-sponsored awards ceremony held in London on 4 March by iESE – the sector-led improvement body which operates on a not-for-profit basis.

‘I'm always ready to praise the hard work and dedication of both members and officers at the city council and the way we have developed strong partnerships with other sectors who work with us,' said Norwich leader, Cllr Brenda Arthur.

‘And now, after last night's achievements, I have even more to be proud of as it simply adds weight to my assertions that the council is an amazing organisation working in a fantastic city.'

Norwich City Council chief executive, Laura McGillivray, said the award had ‘proved to be the icing on the cake for us in what has been a year of remarkable achievements'.
 
‘Going from being an underperforming council to one that is efficient, high performing, creative, collaborative and delivers on its promises, has needed a combined effort from the whole organisation,' Ms McGillivray said.
 
This was formally recognised last night when we were proudly presented with both awards,' she added.

Chairman of iESE, Cllr Paul Bettison lauded Norwich for having ‘gronw from a once poor performer to one that now boasts savings proportionally higher than many much larger authorities'.

‘Following a whole culture and systems change across the organisation, its innovative solutions and thinking ‘outside the box' has earned high credibility with both residents and businesses,' added Cllr Bettison, who is leader of Bracknell Forest DC.