Buckinghamshire County Council is getting better the Government's public spending watchdog has said - but must get more value for money.

The council was "improving well" in 2007 the Audit Commission said and gave it three out of four stars.

This score means the council is "performing well" and is "consistently above the minimum standard".

Children and young people services such as education and adult social care got three stars.

Cultural services like libraries and leisure facilities remained at four stars for the third year running And the council went up one to four stars for environmental services like transport and planning.

But use of resources - how well it spends taxpayers' cash - went down from three to two stars.

Just six councils dropped this score out of 150.

Also its financial reporting was judged to be one star - one of three councils who dropped from three to the lowest score.

The council's "corporate assessment", how well it is run, got the top score.

In 2005 the council overall got four stars - but in 2006 went to three and was "improving adequately".

Most councils in England, 63 per cent, were improving well today's report says - and most, 46 per cent, had got three stars.

A further 37 per cent of councils for the top mark of four stars.