A COUNCIL environmental health service still needs to make significant improvements and tackle problems that concern people, inspectors say.
The Audit Commission has given Durham City Council's service one star out of three, rating it fair with uncertain prospects for improvement.
It got the same rating after its last inspection, in 2001.
The Audit Commission says the service has improved slightly in some areas, but others, including pollution control remain inadequate.
The report says improvements include increased inspections at low and medium-risk food premises, a grant scheme for energy efficiency and plans to improve safety standards in rented accommodation.
But it adds: "The service needs to tackle issues which matter to local people, such as dog fouling. There are no formal arrangements for out-of-hours services, which means the council cannot guarantee it will be able to respond appropriately in the event of an emergency."
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