A NEW report shows good progress is being made to protect Warrington’s most vulnerable residents, regenerate the borough and provide an improving education offer.

The report found 83.3 per cent of older people accessing the council’s re-ablement service were at home 91 days after their discharge from hospital.

Out of 144 clients, 120 were successfully re-abled and only two residents were admitted to residential or nursing care.

The council’s adult social care transformation programme, which launched in June 2017, has delivered its first key phase.

The programme has helped to redesign a new ‘front door’ for customers, ensuring that residents who contact the council for services are supported to remain as independent as possible by maximising their existing networks.

The council has also demonstrated its commitment to supporting people at risk of homelessness, the report says.

Three hundred and seventy four people were successfully prevented from becoming homeless since April 2017.

The work currently being undertaken to reduce the number of children in care is having an impact.

Figures show that the number of children who came into care in 2016/17 had reduced by 11 per cent on the previous financial year.

The council’s Edge of Care service provides high levels of intervention for families at risk of breakdown, which helps reduce the number of children coming into care. The latest report estimates that around 55 children have been prevented from going into care since July 2016, with children and families receiving necessary and timely support from this new service.

In education, the latest secondary school data shows that Warrington pupils are achieving above the national average.

Schools in the borough have some of the highest performances in English and Maths, and Warrington is ranked third out of the 23 north west local authorities for the percentage of pupils achieving a strong pass.

The council still needs to work to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged children and their peers.

The town centre and Stadium Quarter are starting to attract significant private sector investment and the council has secured a funding allocation of £19.69million to deliver the Warrington West station, which is expected to open in late spring 2019.

Executive board member for personnel and communications, Cllr Hitesh Patel, said: “I’m pleased that we continue to make good progress in delivering vital services to some of our most vulnerable residents. Our schools continue to perform well and I’m pleased that we are on track with our key infrastructure investments.

“I’d like to express thanks to council staff who continue to work hard to overcome the financial pressures we are facing, with the Government having cut a third of our budget since 2010. We still have plenty to do, but we’re making very encouraging progress.”