Harrow Council is the second most improving council in London, according to a table of boroughs' progress drawn up by professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

PwC examined how well each authority was meeting government-set targets - called indicators - in a range of services, such as adult care, environment, education and community safety.

The result was that Harrow Council moved from 17th position to sixth in the overall table for London - the highest it has ever been placed. The borough leapfrogged the furthest up the improvement tables for the planning and corporate services indicators.

Pointers used to gauge the success of the benefits department placed it as the most improved in the capital.

Harrow remained in the same rank for children and housing (management) indicators but slipped down the table for transport and culture.

Council leader David Ashton (Conservative) said: "We're obviously very pleased. I attribute it to the hard work of officers and councillors. I'm particularly pleased with benefits, transport and planning.

"But we're not complacent and we're looking for further improvement. It's our aim to be one of the top six councils in London."

Mr Ashton presented PwC's findings to a full meeting of the council last Thursday. He said: "The response from most members was very positive. From Labour, the reaction was sullen silence."

Liberal Democrat group leader Councillor Chris Noyce said: "Yes, they are improving and we have come a long way since 2006 but not all of the improved areas affect everybody."

Councillor Bill Stephenson, leader of the Labour group, criticised the lack of explanation in the draft PwC report as to what all the graphs relate to.

He said: "It's complicated. I don't know how these figures were worked out and how the PwC came to the different conclusions.

"If Harrow Council has improved, some of the things were put in place a long time ago by the Labour administration, such as the ICT and BTP (Business Transformation Partnership) projects, and they have come to fruition; we got rid of paper and starting working electronically."