Carers of Adults rated at Star turn in Report

Inspectors have praised the level of social care provided for adults in Derbyshire. The Commission for Social Care Inspection has announced its ratings for Derbyshire County Council and Derby City Council. Stars are given depending on the quality of service. The county council was awarded the maximum three stars, while the city council was given two stars.

It is the first time that adult social care has been rated as a separate entity to social services for children.

Last year's ratings, when the county received three stars and the city council two, were for social services in general, before authorities restructured to tackle the two services separately. For the second year running, the city council's potential for improvement was rated as "promising", while it was said to be serving "most" people well.

The city council's ruling Labour group has been heavily criticised by its political opponents for its decision to scrap home-care charges last November, in line with a pre-election pledge. Liberal Democrat and Conservative councillors claimed that a shortage of funds had led to a reduced service. Home care includes cooking and cleaning and helping people to get dressed.

But the leader of the council, Councillor Chris Williamson, says that the rating is proof that the council is fulfilling its obligations to the public. He said: "This is clearly a vindication of the excellent stewardship of social care under the Labour party, and particularly Councillor Fareed Hussain, who has done an excellent job in leading this. It illustrates our commitment to home-care users and to all recipients of adult social care. But we're not complacent, we want to improve this further and won't be content to rest on our laurels. We know there's more that can be done and we want to do it."

Despite the county council's overall top mark, the inspectors found that it had "excellent" capacity to improve - the highest achievable rating. Councillor Dave Allen, cabinet member for services for older people and vulnerable adults, said: "I'm delighted. I'd like to record my appreciation for all the effort and hard work of the staff and our partners. We'll strive to build on this excellent rating and continue to improve our service delivery and enhance well-being in all our communities."

Leicestershire County Council also received three stars, while Lincolnshire County Council got a single star.

Toni Smith, the commission's East Midlands regional director, said: "The authorities in the East Midlands have performed particularly well, especially compared with national standards."