Council legal team's two-star showing

The independent team of assessors -- who check council departments to make sure they are probiding a value-for-money service -- was full of praise for the borough's legal, central services and reprographics business and delivered a 'Two Star' verdict.

The Best Value inspectors added that the services -- which include legal experts, porters and mail room staff as well as graphics and printing -- displayed clear aims and would probably improve.

Councils across the country are having their services placed under the microscope by Best Value inspectors under the Government's modernisation programme.

Other council services have also been examined but the legal services report is the first to be published in Blackburn with Darwen.

The inspectors said: "We believe that the service provided is a good, two star service because all three services included in the review have clear aims which link their roles with the corporate priority to improve the quality of council services.

"The services provided to users within the council displayed many positive features, including high levels of satisfaction with quality, reliability and responsiveness."

In particular, they said the legal service was pro-active as well as reactive, delivered a comprehensive range of services and had good systems to organise the work effectively.

The inspection team highlighted some areas where there was room for improvement and made a number of recommendations for the future development of the service.

Coun Gail Barton, executive member for resources, said: "This is an excellent report and I want to congratulate all the staff for their hard work."

She added: "I am particularly pleased that the inspectors noted the capacity to improve. This is vital as we are determined to keep all our services moving forward and to promote continuous improvement in everything we do."