By Ray Dunne BBC News Online health staff

Children's services in Birmingham have come in for criticism

While services in some parts of the country have improved, they appear to be getting worse in others.

Few councils contrast more starkly than Birmingham City Council and East Sussex County Council.

Last year both authorities received zero stars and were classed as failing.

Twelve months on, Birmingham is still languishing at the bottom the table while East Sussex has soared up the ranks having collected two stars.

On the face of it, the performance of East Sussex would suggest that it is quite easy to turn around a struggling social services department.

Money talks

According to the council, extra money and a clear focus make all the difference.

"The cabinet made improving services to older people its top priority and we invested millions of pounds to achieve this," says Councillor Keith Glazier, lead cabinet member for social services and health.

We have turned the corner and are making progress Susanna McCorry, Birmingham City Council

The council's rating has been helped by the fact that its services for children were never that bad.

Last year, they were ranked among the top 50 in the country. Poor social services for adults were dragging the council down.

The council spent an additional �7m on older people's services last year.

It opened 40 new beds in short-term residential centres, which are designed to help older people return home after a spell in hospital.

It also increased the number of elderly people receiving intensive home care by 39%.

The council also shored up its children's services.

It recruited 28 more foster carers and helped to get more children adopted. Its adoption services are now ranked 8th best in England.

The situation in Birmingham was always going to be more difficult to turn around.

Birmingham City Council is the largest local authority in England and one of the biggest in Europe.

It serves a population of almost one million. East Sussex by comparison serves a population of about 500,000.

Turning around Birmingham's social services was always going to be like turning around a large tanker.

Big problems

Birmingham's problems were highlighted in September following the death of seven-year-old Toni-Ann Byfield.

She and her 41-year-old father, a known drug dealer, were shot dead in a flat in north London.

We invested millions of pounds Keith Glazier, East Sussex County Council

The seven-year-old was staying with her father for the weekend.

She was a ward of court, who had been known to Birmingham Social Services since late last year.

The city council came in for criticism following Toni-Ann's murder and carried out an internal investigation.

Government inspectors are expected to say that urgent changes are needed when they publish a report shortly.

Lin Homer, the council's chief executive, acknowledges that big improvements are needed.

"We accept that we are not currently serving all people well enough in providing social care and to that extent we do not yet deserve a star."

She said the soon-to-be-made recommendations from government inspectors will be acted on quickly.

Councillor Susanna McCorry, the council's cabinet member for social care and health, said the task of improving services should be seen as a "marathon not a sprint".

"We have turned the corner and are making progress," she said.