Kingston Council has been shortlisted along with 5 other councils in the UK for a prestigious national award.

The Council is in the running to win 'Local Authority of the Year' at the 2021 MJ achievement awards, which were set up in 2004 and recognise achievement in local government.

Other local authorities nominated include the London Borough of Hounslow, Watford Borough Council and the more far-flung Plymouth City Council.

You can watch the full statement by Council Leader Caroline Kerr and Chief Executive Ian Thomas in the video above.

The nomination for Kingston Council states : "The Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames is a local authority on the move with a hugely exciting agenda.

"It is seriously ambitious for its residents and its adults and children's services are among the very best.

"With much done and more to come, it is delivering on an unprecedented scale for its residents."

Kingston Council has also been nominated for 2 other awards: 'Senior Leadership Team' and, for its Library Service, 'Digital Transformation.'

In addition, the Council was commended for its work on the Cambridge Road Estate regeneration plan in 'Best Social Housing Initiative.'

And General Counsel and Monitoring Officer Lauren McCann was commended in the 'Rising Star' category.

Responding to the news, Councillor Caroline Kerr, Leader of Kingston Council, said: "The MJ Awards are open to all UK councils and to be placed on the shortlist for such coveted prizes is a huge success in itself.

"The winners of each award will be announced in September but - regardless of the outcome - we can all be proud that Kingston has been recognised as one of the best performing councils in the country."

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