Kingston Council's 'residents first' approach has been praised as part of a Local Government Association review that also complemented the council as a "high-performing local authority".

Every few years, to maintain good practice, the council invites a Corporate Peer Challenge - where a team of independent local government peers come in and assess the council's performance and identify areas of strength and areas where it can improve.

The team highlighted Kingston Council's 'residents first' approach as one of its strengths. They were impressed by the high levels of satisfaction and pride among the council workforce and their commitment to improve lives for the borough's communities.

This enthusiasm for delivering better outcomes for residents and communities was recognised across the whole organisation and the way the council works in partnerships was also highlighted as a strength.

Partners particularly praised Kingston Council's collaborative approach and focus on finding solutions. 

The peers recognised the strength of leadership- not just in senior roles, but at all levels across the organisation. Their report outlines 8 recommendations for the council that could help drive further improvement. 

These included how it makes better use of the insight it gets from engagement with Kingston residents to help shape service provision, moving forward with developing a new housing strategy for the borough and how the council builds on the good work it does with local partner organisations to continue to deliver for local residents.

The report and the council's response in the form of an action plan to take this forward was presented to the council's corporate and resources committee.

You can view the report in full on the council's website here, which also features an action plan on how the council will address the recommendations.

Councillor Andreas Kirsch, leader of Kingston Council, said: "At a time when local government across the country faces great challenges, the compassion and commitment of Kingston Council staff to supporting and empowering residents to live happy and healthy lives is unwavering. 

"We know we have more work to do and welcome the recommendations to drive improvement and help us deliver on our commitments"  

Sarah Ireland, chief executive of Kingston Council, added: "I'm incredibly proud of our colleagues for having been praised by our peers in this way.

"I see every day just how much work and dedication is put into helping our residents, and this confirmation is very heartening.

"The report is vital to shaping our next steps and improvement, and through our action plan, we will now endeavour to address the constructive recommendations put forward by the team to develop our services for the better."