FINANCIAL management is improving at Oxfordshire County Council, according to an inspection by the Audit Commission.

All councils in the country are ranked on their use of resources by the commission, with four stars being the top score and no stars at all being the worst.

The council has made providing value for money one of its prime objectives, and has improved in this field by one star, moving from two stars to three.

Charles Shouler, the council's cabinet member for finance, said: "This news represents real progress for the county council.

"The structures that we have put in place have borne fruit. The people of Oxfordshire have a right to expect that the council manages its finances properly and provides value for money. These improvements prove that we do.

"However, we still want more progress - we want to be among the best in the country."

Keith Mitchell, the leader of the council, added: "This news follows our recent positive grading from the Audit Commission in the areas of social care services for adults and children's services. The trend is clear from these independent inspections.

"The county council is making huge strides. We can look forward with great optimism to our council-wide rating in the New Year."

The council's new ratings are three stars for financial management, financial standing, internal control and value for money, with two stars for financial reporting. Its overall use of resources score is three stars.

The improvement will now be fed into an overall rating for all county council services, which will be announced in the New Year. The council is currently a three-star "good" council.

Four stars or "excellent" is the best possible rating, with no stars at all being the worst.

Three stars is described by the Audit Commission as "consistently above minimum requirements - performing well".