FEWER people are on benefits, more jobs are being created and the number of affordable homes is on the up.

North Somerset Council has been largely praised in an independent report analysing key infrastructure and business demands for the region.

The report, carried out by KCPI, showed the authority improved in nine of 11 key areas during the final quarter of the 2013-14 financial year.

The business sector was arguably the council’s biggest success, with more than 300 jobs created at the Junction 21 Enterprise Area.

It also exceeded its 85 per cent target for new businesses surviving their first 12 months after support from the North Somerset Enterprise Agency.

The number of claimants on Jobseeker’s Allowance has fallen again, while 132 schemes to reduce flooding and improve drainage were carried out during 2013-14 – almost twice as many as were expected.

The council did however miss two of its targets.

Only 11 council apprentices went on to earn employment with the authority, two fewer than it was aiming for, although this does mark an improvement on the previous year.

And the council also failed to provide enough information to businesses looking to relocate in North Somerset.