Staffordshire's cultural services hailed as some of the best in the West Midlands

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Regional Commentary for Staffordshire County Council has commended them for their work in five key areas - arts, museums, libraries, archives and sport.

In particular, the services were praised for having a clear vision, strong leadership, an established track record of using feedback from communities to improve services and for demonstrating commitment to partnership working.

What this means in practice is that people in Staffordshire enjoy access to some of the best cultural services in the West Midlands.

County Councillor and Cabinet Support Member for Cultural Services, Maureen Compton, said: "I am thrilled that the hard work put into giving the people of Staffordshire an opportunity to enrich their lives through cultural activities has been formally recognised."

She continued: "The regional commentary has not only highlighted the fantastic services that are available to all - libraries, museums and archives for example - and how they outperform others in the region, it has also picked out pieces of work that have proven how the arts can make a real difference to the lives of specific vulnerable groups in Staffordshire."

Amongst other initiatives, the report has hailed Staffordshire's 'Sonic [db]' project 'excellent and innovative'.

The project, whose patron was Radio 1 DJ Tim Westwood, involved young people in youth offending institutions across Staffordshire and Stoke-on Trent in music making, developing skills in music technology and gaining an understanding of the music industry.

Read the full report