COTSWOLD District Council has been named as the fifth most efficient council in the country.

The council has climbed up the rankings since January last year, where its overall ranking was ninth out of 201 shire district councils.

One year on and the Council’s Corporate Strategy Update and Corporate Plan for 2014/15 shows that its position has improved to fifth.

To improve in the ratings, the council was measured on a range of indicators including overall cost of council services per head of population, rate of increase in council tax, time taken to process housing and council tax benefits and percentage of council tax collected.

Council leader Councillor Lynden Stowe said: “I am very pleased that we are making such good progress towards our stated aim.

"Grants to this council have been cut by 53 per cent in the last four years which means that we have had to seek innovative ways to become more efficient while protecting frontline services.

"We have responded to this daunting challenge very well, and have generated substantial savings by increasing our sharing of officers with West Oxfordshire District Council, and an increasing number of services with a several other authorities.

“I have every confidence that we can continue to perform to a very high level and deliver the quality of frontline services that the residents of the Cotswolds demand and deserve.”