Stratford-on-Avon District Council has today announced that they have succeeded in achieving the prestigious beacon status.

The Beacon Scheme was set up to disseminate best practice in service delivery across local government.

Themes are selected for each round of the scheme by government ministers. The themes represent issues which are important in the day-to-day lives of the public and reflect key government priorities. Themes are announced one or two years in advance and some themes will be repeated in future rounds.

Beacon status is granted to those authorities who can demonstrate a clear vision, excellent services and a willingness to innovate within a theme. Awards are made by government ministers based on recommendations made by an independent advisory panel.

Stratford District Council's application was based on the Virtual District project that aims to improve the delivery of services, extend the range of facilities, and improve the accessibility of local public services. Local residents will be able to communicate with the council and its partners, including Warwickshire Police, from a variety of different locations including their homes, local supermarkets and hospitals. The Virtual District programme will also enable visitors from around the world to book, transact and even to live the experience before they arrive in the district.

Representatives from the national judging panel were impressed when they visited Stratford in December 2008. They heard a presentation from the Council's Chief Executive, Paul Lankester and other key partners, including Sasha Taylor, eCommunications Manager for Warwickshire Police. They also visited a marketplace where Virtual District partners such as Coventry and Wolverhampton Universities, NHS Direct, NHS Warwickshire, Warwickshire Police and the Hub@Blackwell were able to showcase their plans. The marketplace also demonstrated examples of intergenerational working, with students from Shottery Girls Grammar School and residents from the sheltered housing scheme at Melville House in Stratford working together using the Nintendo Wii. The council also demonstrated its use of technologies such as Twitter, Facebook and Flickr.

Sasha Taylor, eCommunications Manager for Warwickshire Police, said: "This is a fantastic achievement and demonstrates how partnership working can achieve the best results for local communities. Warwickshire Police are committed to working with our partners to better protect people from harm. By engaging with our local communities through a variety of new technologies we will be able to better understand the concerns of local people and help address these."

Pictured in the image (from left to right) are representatives receiving the award from Baroness Kay Andrews and Sadiq Khan - MP:

• Stephen Crowne - Becta (Sponsor)
• Sasha Taylor - Warwickshire Police
• Pam Bradbury - NHS Direct
• Balvinder Heron - Stratford on Avon District Council
• Councillor Les Topham - Stratford on Avon District Council

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