Council hopes for awards double

BOOSTING the borough’s recycling rates and slashing anti-social behaviour could lead to award winning success for Oldham Council.

The authority has been shortlisted in two categories at the Municipal Journal Awards 2011 with the results announced later today.

The council is in the running for Best Achieving Council of the Year and Best Achievement in Children’s Services.

The awards recognise and reward significant achievements in local government services.

In the Best Achieving Council category, Oldham was shortlisted for a series of improvements over the past two years including Go Oldham — a programme of youth activities which have helped to reduce anti-social behaviour by 43 per cent, a near-tripling of recycling rates, and a 30 per cent reduction in the number of homeless people.

In the Best Achievement in Children’s Services category, judges were impressed with the council’s excellent Ofsted grade after being adjudged to be “performing adequately” in 2008.

Councillor Shoab Akhtar, Deputy Leader of Oldham Council, said: “It is humbling to get recognition from our peers that we are making clear improvements in our services.

“To be shortlisted for these awards you need to be able to prove that your local authority has made significant and sustainable improvements in a range of areas.

“We are proud of many of the achievements that have contributed to this recognition from the MJ panel, but we are also very clear that, ultimately, it is what our residents think and their everyday experience of our services that really matters.”