Trust in councils is on the rise – reaching its highest level for three years.

With national politicians battling to gain the faith of the electorate ahead of the General Election next week, a poll for the Association of Public Sector Excellence (APSE) has found the public 11 times more likely to trust councillors to make decisions over government ministers.

The research by Survation also found people seven-and-a-half times more likely to trust councils over government to make decisions about service delivery and nine times more likely to trust local authorities to deliver them.