Wiltshire Council has been ranked as one of England's best for efficiently delivering core services.

The IMPOWER Index assessed councils' productivity in relation to their budgets over eight key areas.

Theses were 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.

Councillor 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 10, 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.

"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."

The council ranked as the best performer against its statistical neighbours for children’s social care and homelessness services, and also performed strongly in older adult social care.