Breckland Council is in the running for a prestigious national prize after being shortlisted in the 2019 Local Government Chronicle (LGC) Awards.

Breckland Training Services (BTS), the council's external training team, has been shortlisted in the awards' innovation category, which seeks to recognise examples of services which have been redesigned in order to achieve better outcomes.

BTS was originally set up in 2012 to provide training and consultancy services to other local authorities, public sector bodies and the private sector, in response to regular requests submitted to Breckland Council for this type of support.

Richard Wills, BTS' managing director, said: 'I'm very proud of the whole team who have been working incredibly hard to implement our plan.

'It has been a real pleasure to deliver training to thousands of people over the last few years and I look forward to speaking with the judges about our plans to develop further in the future.'

BTS has grown from 13 customers in 2012 to 45 active customers in 2017-18 and has delivered training to 108 local authorities, three central government departments, six regional employers' associations, and 20 SMEs.

The LGC judges were impressed by BTS' successes to date and its plans to innovate further and generate income for the council.

LGC editor Nick Golding said: 'The councils that have been shortlisted for an LGC Award are among the most innovative and their innovation is providing the best services for residents, despite local government facing enormous budget cuts.

'The officers and councillors deserve enormous credit for thinking of new ways to deliver the best services, ensuring vital services thrive in the era of austerity.'

Representatives from Breckland Council and its BTS team, along with the other shortlisted organisations, will deliver a presentation to the judging panel made up of senior and influential figures within local government.

The winners of the LGC Awards will be announced on March 13 2019 at an event which will be attended by more than 1,100 people from local government and its partner organisations.