"WE'RE excellent!"

That's the jubilant message Halton Council employees hailed this week as they celebrated joining an elite group of top-rated authorities.

"It is now official," said proud council leader Cllr Tony McDermott. "We all represent and work for one of an elite number of excellent local councils as stated by the Audit Commission.

"This is a credit to every person who works here in Halton and to all those who have supported us in recent years."

The 'excellent' rating - awarded by the independent watchdog Audit Commission - marks an improvement in council services and the way it runs its business since 2002.

Delighted chief executive David Parr said: "This is a tremendous achievement and one that employees and members are rightly proud of.

"Halton Council has achieved the very highest accolade any council can achieve."

The corporate performance assessment (CPA) examines a council's management ability and scrutinises key services, including education, social services, housing, environment, benefits, libraries, leisure and use of resources.

Francis Done, audit commissioning managing director for local government, said: "Halton has done much to address the issues we raised in 2002.

"As a result, services have improved, especially in social care, housing and benefits. The council has worked well with its partners to bring new developments and jobs to the district."

However, she said, there was still room for improvement.

"The council does not yet do enough to fully engage with all sections of local communities," said Ms Done. "The aim of CPA is to improve services for residents. Councils best achieve this by improving management arrangements, which then has an impact on the ground."