Social services in Leicestershire are among the best run in the country, but there's still room for improvement in Leicester.

Inspectors have awarded the county council's social services department the top three-star rating after carrying out checks on everything from meals-on-wheels to children's homes.

They gave the city council one star after recent inspections, saying it could do better.

The Department of Health's findings come six months after it first published its star ratings for local authorities.

It's a case of no change for the county and city, which scored three stars and one star respectively, in May.

County cabinet social services spokesman Coun David Parsons said: "We are delighted with the news. We will do everything we can to maintain this level of performance and continue to develop and improve services for local people."

In May, city social services bosses said they would ask the Government why their department scored poorly in the first national survey. Inspectors said areas, including education for looked-after children and reviews of child protection services, were of concern.