23 January 2007, 07/25
WLDC welcomes Judge for top local government
awards
West Lancashire District Council welcomed a special visitor to
Ormskirk and Skelmersdale - on a mission to judge whether West
Lancs really is one of the best.
John Foster, Chief Executive of Wakefield Council, came to assess
the Council, which has been shortlisted in the "Most Improved
Council of the Year" category in the prestigious Local Government
Chronicle 2007 Awards - the 'Oscars' of the local government
world.
Mr Foster visited the Customer Service Point in Skelmersdale, the
Council Offices at 52 Derby Street Ormskirk, and the West
Lancashire Investment Centre in Skelmersdale, and met councillors,
senior officers and other staff to undertake a thorough assessment
of the Council's performance.
Cllr Geoff Roberts, Leader of the Council, said: "The awards are
widely regarded as the 'Oscars' of the local government world and
John Foster came to give us a thorough assessment to see if we are
in fact the 'most improved council of the year'. I feel sure he
will have been impressed with what he saw. Now we must wait for the
final results, which will be announced in March."
West Lancs is competing against five other authorities (Kettering,
Haringey, Oldham, Rotherham and Salford) for the 'Most Improved
Council' title.
It has also been shortlisted for the "IT and E-Government Award" in
the LGC Awards, for which it is one of 6 competitors, along with
Calderdale, Leeds, Ealing, Somerset and Stockton-on-Tees. However,
the judge's visit related only to the 'Most Improved Council'
title.
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