Eastleigh voted Council of the Year
Eastleigh Borough Council has been named Council of the Year in a UK-wide awards scheme recognising excellence in service delivery. The authority scooped the top accolade in the 2022 APSE Service Awards. APSE - the Association for Public Service Excellence - is the organisation dedicated to promoting quality in the delivery of frontline services to communities by UK local authorities. Their awards receive hundreds of submissions every year and only outstanding councils, that have met the stringent criteria of the expert judges, are shortlisted for Council of the Year. This year, the awards included 22 categories, covering the majority of local services. The Council’s Direct Services team won the category award for Transport and Fleet Maintenance and, overall, Eastleigh Council teams and initiatives were shortlisted in six of the individual awards in total – including Best Service Team: Parks, Grounds and Horticultural Service; Best Climate Action or Decarbonisation Initiative; Best Health and Wellbeing Initiative (including Social Care) and Best Public/Private Partnership Working Initiative. Eastleigh’s StreetScene and other teams have been recognised for multiple APSE awards in recent years.
Eastleigh Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Health and Social Policy, Councillor Tonia Craig, who accepted the award on behalf of the Council, said: “Being recognised as Council of the Year is a superb accolade and reflects the commitment of our staff to deliver truly excellent frontline services. I would like to pay tribute to all our teams who work so hard to support communities and improving lives in our Borough – and to thank APSE for this recognition.” Paul O'Brien, APSE Chief Executive said, "This year we received an overwhelming number of submissions for the awards, with each one demonstrating a clear commitment to the goals of continuous improvement and the delivery of excellence in public services. From parks to school meals, from collecting bins to caring for older people, it is a real honour to recognise the fantastic work local councils do at the frontline."