Scotland's police forces and fire brigades have all improved their services to the public over the past year.

Public service watchdog, the Accounts Commission for Scotland, also congratulates local authorities for enforcing tougher food safety standards.

The figures out on Thursday reveal that Scotland's eight fire brigades are on average getting to accidents and emergencies in high risk areas, like town centres, more quickly.

And their turn-out time for road accidents, which are most common in rural areas, is also improving.

The accounts commissioners, who check how well £13bn is being spent across all the services, say the picture is encouraging.

Detection levels rise

The past year has seen Scotland's crime rate jump by 13,000 more offences, but even against the increase detection levels are up.

The numbers of crimes cleared up by police officers rose to 43% of reported incidents, from just under 40%.

The detection rates for violent crimes, including murder and attempted murder, remain higher at around 98%.

The commission's head of local government studies, Lesley Bloomer, said: "Fire brigades have reported a welcome improvement on last year's performance levels and, despite an increase in recorded crime, the police have also improved their clear-up rates.

"Overall, the performance of both services this year is encouraging."