WORCESTERSHIRE County Council has been awarded the top score of four stars by the government's independent watchdog, the Audit Commission.

Under the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) scheme, all county and unitary authorities have been given a rating from zero stars up to four stars.

The CPA draws together the council's performance in all areas of service provision and is regarded as tougher to attain than previous benchmarks.

Worcestershire was already in the top rating band for councils under the old scoring system.

This year the Audit Commission introduced the new test for local authorities to encourage councils to maintain the quality of services offered to residents.

The CPA measures the quality of core services provided by a council, its use of resources, how it performs as a corporate body and whether the authority is doing well.

The county council passed the test but officers and councillors believe there is room for improvement.

Cllr George Lord, leader of the council, said: "I'm delighted with the results. It just shows how well a low-funded authority can perform and that's a great credit to all staff and councillors."

The use of resources and value for money assessment was noted as the most pleasing aspect of the CPA process for Worcestershire.

Cllr Adrian Hardman, responsible for resources, said: "We might be bottom of the funding league but we lead when it comes to getting the best results with public money."