A DRIVE to raise standards has resulted in a social services department being named among the 20 most-improved in the country.

And Health Minister Jacqui Smith today said she would be talking to chiefs at Blackburn with Darwen Council to see if their success could be repeated elsewhere in the country.

The honour is based on their results in recent performance indicators published by the government's Social Services Inspectorate. Overall, it shows the council has come a long way since it split from Lancashire County Council in 1998.

Now the department is to be studied by government chiefs to see if any tips can be passed on to other authorities which aren't doing so well.

Indicators showing improvement between 1999/2000 and 2000/2001 included: the percentage of children on the child protection register visited at least once every six weeks up to 63.6% from 37.5%; educational qualifications for children looked after, up from 31% to 65.4%; 100% of children on the register whose cases should have been reviewed were reviewed compared to the previous figure of 84%.

In the adult sector, the percentage of people in care receiving a statement of their needs and how they would be met went up from 80.3% to 93.6%; and 102 elderly people were helped to live at home compared to the previous figure of 95.

Coun Sue Reid, executive member for social services said extra money had been diverted into social services along with extra staff. The council has also looked at new ways of helping people, including more home care services to stop pensioners having to go into OAP homes.

Efforts had also been made to reduce the number of children in care by advertising for more foster parents and adopted parents.

She said: "We have constantly said we aim to improve our social care provision for vulnerable members of our community. To be named as one of the 20 most improved social services departments in the country is a credit to our dedicated staff and shows that we are keeping our promise to our citizens."

In contrast, Blackpool, the county's other unitary authority, has been named in the bottom 10. Lancashire was deemed to have performed well, although it was said to have room for much improvement.