The council says it will aim to improve the delivery of services

Torbay Council's performance was rated as "poor" by the Audit Commission and a close monitoring system was enforced.

But at the end of last year it moved up a rating under the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) and is now described as "fair".

The local government minister has praised Torbay for its achievement.

Improving services

Phil Hope said: "The recent assessment of the council as 'fair' is a significant success that reflects the hard work and professionalism of staff throughout the council.

"It is important that the council's commitment to improvement is sustained, and I look forward to seeing this continue."

Chris Harris, Torbay Council's leader says the announcement demonstrates the significant progress which has been made.

"We will now be able to focus all of our efforts on improving the delivery of services to the residents of Torbay and keeping our commitment to the lowest council tax rise since becoming a unitary authority," he said.