Social services in Derbyshire have been ranked among the top performing in the country in Government performance indicators.

All 150 local authority social services departments were awarded ratings in 48 different performance indicators in the Department of Health's Performance Assessment Framework (PAF) 2001/2002.

Derbyshire County Council's social services were rated in the highest or second band in 35 (73%) of the 48 indicators covering services for children and adults.

Social services are ranked on their performance in areas including: Older people and those with disabilities who are helped to stay in their own home The health and education of children in social services care The adoption and fostering of children in social services care The cost effectiveness of services Assessments of adults and older people

In one category only - the employment, education and training opportunities offered to 19 year olds who have left the council's care - has the department been asked to improve its performance. As the figures used were taken from last year, action has already been taken to address the situation with mentoring schemes and improved after care services.

Councillor Anne Western, the county council's cabinet member for health and social care, said: "We are very pleased that we are among the leading authorities in the country. The results reflect the difficult balance achieved between delivering a good quality service and cost efficiency. "These figures are based on our performance between April 2001 and March 2002 and the areas we have been asked to develop have already been successfully addressed."

The continuing improvement in the PAF indicators has also reaffirmed the authority's performance in new star ratings published by the Social Services Inspectorate in May.

Social services in Derbyshire were awarded two stars, a rating achieved by 34 per cent of authorities nationally, after independent judgements of performance across the department.

Councillor Western added: "We welcome the news that we have retained our star rating although we are aware there is always scope for improvement and we are working to ensure standards are rising all the time."