Barking and Dagenham Council was been named Council of the Year at the Local Government Chronicle Awards last night.

The council also scooped the Driving Growth award at the event, which was held at Grosvenor House.

The award was presented to the council that successfully demonstrated “combining significant public service improvement and reform with budget cuts and efficiency savings”.

Council leader Darren Rodwell said: “This is a wonderful accolade not just for me but for more than 2,900 staff - from street cleaners and school cooks, through to councillors, officers and our partner organisations.

“These people, many of whom live in the borough, have really made a positive difference to the lives of around 210,000 residents in Barking and Dagenham.

“To see their work recognised in this way, and to beat the competition we did, is a real honour and testament to our vision.

“While I will be the first to hold my hands up and admit we might not always get things right, this award shows we are a council that is going in the right direction and we will continue to do our best to improve the lives of our residents.”

The council was also highly commended by judges in the Housing Initiative category for the borough’s Reside scheme, which offers affordable rental accommodation to people earning the minimum wage.