South Norfolk is in top ten best councils to work for

South Norfolk Council is one of the ten best councils to work for in England.

It has come eighth in the Times newspapers Best Council to Work For competition, run in conjunction with the Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA).

It follows a survey of staff looking at everything from leadership and motivation to delivering for the community. In the same competition, it also came third in the category of staff training and development.

These latest achievements by the council have been described as "magnificent" by Council Leader John Fuller.

They come just over a year after the council was rated "Excellent" by Government watchdog, the Audit Commission. South Norfolk Council is the only authority rated excellent in the county.

Councillor Fuller said:

"South Norfolk Council is officially the 8th best council to work for out of over 350 in the whole country in The Times awards.

"This is a magnificent achievement and congratulations to everyone at the council for their commitment and the work they do for the community."

Councillor Fuller and former Chief Executive Geoff Rivers, only found out about the success at an awards ceremony in London last week. They were presented with the award by Lucy De Groot, the IDeA Executive Director.

It was announced officially by the Times newspaper today (23 September).

South Norfolk Council's neighbouring local authority Broadland District Council entered the same competition, and did even better, coming third.

Ironically, both South Norfolk Council and Broadland Council have been targeted for potential abolition by the Boundary Committee for England as part of its hugely controversial Local Government Reorganisation consultation. It is currently the subject of a High Court challenge.

Councillor Fuller said:

"This accolade adds to South Norfolk's growing reputation as the best council in Norfolk.

"I am delighted for the staff to be recognised in this manner and particularly pleased for Geoff Rivers, our former chief executive, as the awards ceremony happened on his last night with the council and provided a fitting end to nine years distinguished service to the district."

In 2007, Best Companies, the name behind The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For lists, joined the IDeA to research and publish the first ever list of the Best Councils to Work For in The Times.

This is the first year that South Norfolk Council has entered the competition.

The competition organisers make clear that the list highlights councils as ‘employers of choice’ and shows that top performing authorities "really are measuring up with the very best of UK business".

Related pages

• Latest news