Falkirk Council has scooped a national award for one of its frontline services.

The award for ‘Most improved performer for roads, highways and winter maintenance’ category recognised the proactive approach taken by the Council towards road maintenance, as well as how it deals with issues such as pothole repairs and carrying out regular safety checks on roads.

The Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) awards looks at the cost, quality and productivity of key services from local authorities all over the UK.

Cllr Dr Craig R Martin, spokesperson for the Environment, said: “The award recognises the hard work that has gone into the continuous improvement of our roads maintenance and winter services.  It is fitting that the Council and our staff are recognised for winter maintenance service just as the cold weather begins to bite” 

“We are ready for winter, are you? All of our services have winter plans in place. The thousands of tonnes of salt and grit we have stocked is already being put to good use, and people can check out where it’s being used by looking at our road gritting priority map on our website”.

“Our ‘Get Ready for Winter’ booklets are also available in libraries, One Stop Shops and other Council buildings and offers information on not only what we do in winter, but what everyone can do to help themselves and their neighbours.”

Now in its third year, the ‘Get Ready for Winter’ booklet offers a few simple steps to help people to prepare for winter. It also offers information on the plans in place for Council services including schools, roads and refuse collection.

Debbie Johns, Head of APSE Performance Networks, said: “Measuring how well council services perform is a vital part of the jigsaw in ensuring we deliver value for money to local people.”

Falkirk Council was also a finalist in two other categories, and these were ‘most improved performer for building maintenance’ and ‘most improved performer in refuse collection.’