Ceri’s Family, a virtual project created by Denbighshire County Council to improve and promote health and social care services available in the county, has been highly acclaimed at the prestigious Local Government Chronicle Awards 2009 .

Denbighshire County Council's nomination for ‘Ceri’s Family’ came under the health and wellbeing category, and the Authority was the only Welsh authority to get recognition at the awards, achieving Highly Commended status.

Councillor Pauline Dobb, Cabinet Lead Member for Health, Social Care and Well-being, said: “To be 2nd in the whole of the UK is a fantastic achievement and shows Denbighshire’s total commitment to partnership working and engaging with communities

“I am delighted that this innovative project has been highly commended in the local government awards.

“The Awards celebrate and reward every aspect of local government and it is an opportunity to highlight initiatives such as Ceri’s Family on a national level and it’s good to see the tremendous dedication of Denbighshire staff being recognised.”

Ceri's Family is a ‘virtual’ media family with members ranging in age from 2 years old to 81 years who reflect real social care issues within Denbighshire. The concept was initially developed for use during the engagement/ consultation phase of the Health, Social Care & Well-Being (HSCWB) Strategy ‘Healthy Denbighshire’ 2008-11. The purpose was to bring the strategy to life, particularly for those groups identified as hard to reach. Ceri's Family is a tool we are further developing to help make our services and information more accessible for the people of Denbighshire, and are a step towards bringing the Council closer to the community.

The Local Government Chronicle Awards are an annual event, and were held this year in the Grosvenor House Hotel, London (hosted by Dara O'Briain). The LGC Awards aim to reward the very best in local government and recognise the excellent service they deliver to the communities they serve. The awards bring together over 1,300 industry leaders to celebrate the most innovative councils in the UK.