Latest News »

Every day of the year, Scottish Local Government provides high quality services for all our communities, often in very challenging circumstances.

The COSLA Excellence Awards showcase and celebrate the very best of this, profiling the innovative and creative approaches that Scottish local authorities are embracing to produce and deliver high calibre services to meet the needs of local communities.

Local Government faces major challenges over the next few years. We are entering unchartered waters in relation to the financial circumstances which local government finds itself. This difficult outlook is set against a backdrop of increasing demand for council services. Tax payers, service users and citizens have increasing expectations of the quality and availability of services, and an ageing population needs more and better care. It is a ‘perfect storm’; income is reducing at a time when costs and demand are increasing.

The 2011 COSLA Excellence Awards provide a unique opportunity to highlight and share ground-breaking work going on in your community to deliver excellent services against this background, celebrating projects which are dynamic and innovative; which improve efficiency or effectiveness; have the potential to be rolled out across the country and beyond; and make a real and meaningful difference to people’s quality of life and the communities we live in.

Please take a moment to explore this website and find out more about the awards, including the 2011 Guidance and Application Form.

I wish you the very best of luck with your entries for 2011.

Councillor Pat Watters CBE, COSLA President