Aylesbury Vale District Council crowned local authority of the year

Aylesbury Vale District Council has been crowned local authority of the year at a national awards ceremony.
Leader Neil Blake outside the district council's officesLeader Neil Blake outside the district council's offices
Leader Neil Blake outside the district council's offices

The council won the top award in this year’s iESE Improvement and Efficiency Awards for ‘transforming the way it delivers services while reducing costs across the authority’.

It also took gold in the Transforming Local Services category for its move to new IT technology ‘to improve how it connects with residents and deliver cost savings’.

The authority was shortlisted in the Council of the Year category for its New Business Model (NBM) work – which it says is a ‘programme of service innovation, investment and change’.

Over the past five years it says more than £10.5 million in savings have been delivered by ‘generating new income streams, cost savings and efficiencies to help manage the authority’s shrinking budget’.

In the Transforming Local Services category, the council was recognised for a complete refresh of its IT strategy which has seen it move to a ‘more flexible, lower-cost cloud-based infrastructure allowing staff to access services from any location’.

Leader of the council Neil Blake, who wants AVDC to take on Bucks County Council’s services, said: “These awards really show how far we have come as an organisation and provide further recognition for all the hard work of members, officers and staff who continually look to improve the council and what it does for the district.

“I am very proud of what we have achieved and our successes show that AVDC is efficient, high performing, creative, collaborative and delivers on its promises.

“Awards such as these are earned through teamwork and I hope that everyone at AVDC recognises the fact that they’ve all contributed to these successes.”

Nearly 100 councils entered the awards and a total of 22 were shortlisted by iESE, a social enterprise which helps local authorities to deliver savings.

The awards aim to showcase innovation and radical thinking in local government.