APSE is pleased to announce our Annual Service Awards 2026!

These prestigious awards are for all local authorities and their public sector partners across the United Kingdom recognising your frontline services teams as well as your special initiatives.

The Categories for the 2026 APSE Service Awards are: 

Special initiatives

• Best Workforce Initiative
• Best Building and Housing Initiative (including homelessness or house building etc.)
• Best Efficiency and Transformation Initiative
• Best Health and Well-Being Initiative (including social care)
• Best Public/Private Partnership Working Initiative
• Best Collaborative Working Initiative (with other public sector or third sector)
• Best Commercialisation and Entrepreneurship Initiative (including social value and income generation)
• Best Community and Neighbourhood Initiative (can include special projects such as warm hubs, support for vulnerable families, and Friends of Parks groups etc.)
• Best Innovation or Demand Management Initiative
• Best Climate Action or Decarbonisation initiative

Frontline Service Teams of the Year

• Soft Facilities Management (including catering, building cleaning and janitorial services)
• Technical Services (including fleet, transport vehicle maintenance, roads, highways, winter maintenance and street lighting)
• Recycling, Waste and Circular Economy 
• Streetscene (including fly-tipping, waste crime and litter reduction)
• Cemetery and Crematorium Service
• Sports, Leisure and Cultural Service

And the big one:

The APSE Overall Council of the Year 2026

This spectacular award is selected from local authorities who have entered submissions in 4 or more different categories.

Download Guide (pdf)

How to Enter

Unlike many local government awards, the APSE service awards are UK wide so they are open to APSE member and non-member councils from across the UK. It is also FREE to enter. 

Step One 

Decide which categories you would like to enter into. Remember you can even send in more than one submission in a category and enter multiple categories but... please remember even if the topic/project is the same, each submission file needs to be unique, tailored to the category in question and ticked appropriately.

Step Two

Tell us! Please register your interest. You can do that by completing the form below, please tell us by 27 March 2026.

Step Three

Once you are registered we will send you the awards template. You can then start work on your submission/s. Use our hints and tips to enhance your chances of success. Once you are done send your completed submissions to us by 17 April 2026 to [email protected]. Confirmation will be sent out by email after all submissions have been processed no later than 29 May 2026.

Step Four

Put the kettle on and relax. The hard bit is done. It is now over to our judging panel of local government experts. We aim to let successful applicants know if they have been shortlisted as finalists by 31 July 2026.

Step Five 

Our shortlisted finalists will be invited to the Service Awards Charity Dinner. This provides a spectacular end to the APSE Annual Seminar, which will take place in the North of England in September 2026.

Any questions?

Please use our FAQ sheet and if that doesn't answer your question feel free to contact our APSE Service Awards team on 01698 459 051 or email [email protected].