Local authorities are being encouraged use better information technology to improve their social services.

The Social Services Inspectorate has published a national report which reveals improvements in social care services provided by local authorities across England.

Quality on the Way found that the councils which had improved the most had adopted approaches linked to Government-sponsored schemes such as Best value, Quality Protects and performance assessment and independent validated quality systems, such as Investors in People and Charter Marks.

These schemes were "not merely window dressing, but of great benefit", said the report.

Good IT was also important in improving quality. One council - Sefton - had used improved communication systems to help reduce waiting lists for adoption.

But other councils were criticised for "outdated and cumbersome" systems and lack of e-mail and fax machines which made it difficult for people to contact social workers.

Small improvements in the reliability of information systems could result in dramatic quality improvements, it said.

The report analysed services provided by York, Windsor & Maidenhead, Portsmouth, Luton, Sheffield, Sefton, Islington, Cornwall, Wolverhampton and Nottinghamshire councils.

Chief SSI inspector Denise Platt said: "We don't hear enough about the good practice happening across social care so it's encouraging to see that councils are striving to improve the quality of their services.

"There are some measures, which are relatively simple to introduce but which can bring about impressive results and make a real difference. I sincerely hope this upward trend continues in future.

"When councils make a concerted effort to address the quality of their services, it results in significant improvement in performance.

"The new Social Services Inspectorate report, Quality on the Way, clearly shows that progress is being made and gives me cause to be cautiously optimistic."

The report is available on the Department of Health website.