A NUMBER of improvements are being made to the county's social care services following recommendations made by an independent auditor.

North Yorkshire County Council commissioned PriceWaterhouseCoopers to undertake a detailed study of its social services following concern about overspending within its tight budget constraints.

While the report highlighted areas of good performance, it also noted areas where service delivery and efficiency could be improved - including suggesting more closely co-ordinated and controlled departmental working.

Deputy leader of the county council and executive member for social services, Councillor Murray Naylor, said: "Like most social service departments in the country, we in North Yorkshire continue to be faced with increasing demand which inevitably results in budgetary pressures.

"Greater efficiency and altered working practices are clearly one way in which we can work to reduce the additional costs of rising demand."

North Yorkshire's director of social services, Rosemary Archer, said a service plan is being developed to introduce as many of the recommendations into the system as quickly as possible.