A COUNTY council has been criticised by government inspectors for the low standard of its information and communications technology (ICT) service.

An independent report gave Durham County Council's use and provision of ICT services one star, saying it was unlikely to improve.

Durham's ICT services cover the council's telephone system, Internet and other means of electronic communication with members of the public, as well as computer hardware and software.

Reacting to what he called a harsh verdict from the Audit Commission's Best Value Inspection Service, council leader Councillor Ken Manton said it was "not entirely unexpected".

He said: "For several years now the county council has given top priority to education and particularly to nursery education, where our level of provision is acknowledged to be among the very best in the entire country.

"We have consistently spent more on education than Government spending targets have recommended we should and, clearly, when we have been concentrating on one area of service provision to that extent we cannot give priority to ICT as well.

"However, I can live with the Audit Commission's criticism if it means that by concentrating on education we are giving children a better start in life than might otherwise have been the case.

He said while priorities had not changed since the inspection 18 months ago, the use and development of ICT within the authority had.

He said: "As computer technology has become more central to the everyday operation of the council, more resources have been devoted to it to the extent that, in several areas, we are now leading the field."

Coun Manton said significant additional investment during the past two years had resulted in a number of improvements.

These included the development of a county council website, free computer and Internet facilities available in every branch library, and a network of computer-linked contact points throughout the county, which gives people direct access to departments in county hall