TWO Scottish Borders Council services have reached the final of a top awards ceremony.

SBC was a finalist in the Environmental Health best performer category, as well as in the Street Lighting most improved performer section in the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) performance networks awards.

The prizes are designed to recognise councils that are delivering good local services using performance information on cost, quality and productivity.

Scottish Borders Council’s Environmental Health team was recognised as one of the best performers in its field on categories such as cost, number of inspections carried out and response times.

The Street Lighting service performed well in terms of average times to restore faulty street lights, cost of maintenance and energy usage.

Councillor Michael Cook, SBC’s Executive Member for HR and Corporate Improvement said: "Despite the ongoing pressures on local authorities, both of these services have shown that SBC can still provide excellent services to our communities.

"It is pleasing to hear our Environmental Health team performing well, and a good example of the work of the Street Lighting team has been the LED programme.

"The LED rollout has been accelerated so it will be completed in 2018 and will see 17,800 lights and 1,200 signs and bollards in the Borders changed to an energy-saving equivalent, which is estimated to save £20million over 20 years."