Wiltshire Council rated best in south west and seventh best nationally for outstanding outcomes

Wiltshire Council has been named as the seventh-best council in England in the latest IMPOWER Index, an independent measure of how efficiently councils deliver core services in relation to their budgets.

The index looks at councils' productivity over eight key areas: housing, homelessness, waste and recycling, children with special educational needs and disabilities, children's social care, working age adults, older adults, and relationship with health. These services account for approximately 70% of local government budgets, and Wiltshire Council's ranking highlights its commitment to providing high-quality services and outcomes, while ensuring value for money, reinforcing its position as one of the most efficient in the country.

Wiltshire Council stands out for its wide variation in productivity across these key service areas. The council ranks as the best performer against its statistical neighbours for children's social care and homelessness services, and also performs strongly in older adult social care. These high-performing areas significantly drive the council's overall ranking.

Cllr Richard Clewer, Leader of Wiltshire Council, said: Securing seventh place on the IMPOWER Index is fantastic national recognition of the hard work and dedication of everyone at Wiltshire Council.

We are the only council in the south west to make the top ten, and this ranking demonstrates that we are delivering efficient, high-quality services and outcomes for our residents, which is particularly significant given the financial pressures all councils are facing.

We have a Business Plan that clearly sets out our long-term mission for Wiltshire, with a focus on prevention - which means investing at the early stages to help prevent cost pressures further down the road.

This ranking is a great indicator of how we're working to get the most out of every pound spent to benefit our communities, and residents can take pride in knowing that their council is among the best in the country when it comes to delivering cost-effective and impactful services.