Social services in Leicestershire have received an encouraging report from government watchdogs.

A report by the Social Services Inspectorate and Audit Commission says the county is serving most people well, with promising prospects of future improvements.

It says that Leicestershire provides a number of well targeted services that meet the needs of local people. It particularly praised the emphasis the county places on supporting people in their communities rather than in institutions.

Social services staff and managers were described as committed and hardworking and also worked work well in partnership with others concerned in the care for people with mental health problems and young offenders.

However, the review also said there were "serious concerns" about the standards of care provided at two of the county's three children's homes.

It also said that there were too few specialist services for people from ethnic minorities, that services for people with learning disabilities needed modernising and that partnership working with health and other agencies was inconsistent in some areas.

John Bolton, Director of Joint Reviews commented: "Leicestershire is an authority that has made significant progress in the last couple of years, particularly with regard to the relatively low levels of both adults and children who are placed in residential care.

"Undoubtedly work is needed to improve the quality of some services especially for children and people with learning disabilities, but the authority is in a good position to build upon its strengths and raise the standards of social care provided to local people."

The report is available on the Joint Reviews website