COUNCIL leaders at Oxford Town Hall say the authority is continuing to improve.

Oxford City Council is rated weak - based on a 2004 assessment - but chief executive Brian Dinsdale said the results of the 2006/07 performance report showed an upward trend.

He told the finance scrutiny committee: "It has come out quite well. In 2006/07, 81 of the indicators improved and 22 went down. The proportion of indicators improving is increasing."

Among indicators showing significant improvement were street cleanliness and the amount of rubbish collected for recycling and composting.

But overall customer satisfaction and satisfaction with waste collection dropped significantly.

The council is hoping to apply for its Comprehensive Performance Assessment rating to be reclassified early next year, and is to carry out another public opinion survey to see if results have improved recently.

Mr Dinsdale said of its 2004 assessment: "The council will invariably rise, it's just a question of how far."

In April the council's annual financial audit improved on the authority's 2006 scores, taking it up to the level of councils rated 'fair' and 'good'.