What is Best Value?
Under Best Value, each local authority has a duty to "make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions are exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness".
This means that authorities need to review all their activities in line with Best Value legislation and ensure there are action plans from these reviews so that improvement will take place.
This improvement involves consideration of:
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costs;
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making the most of money spent;
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and making sure that services meet the needs of communities and authorities' priorities.
Best Value is also about being imaginative in how local needs are met. Councils do much more than provide services; they regulate, encourage and fund others, and work in a wide array of partnerships.
Reviews must consider the 4 Cs:
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challenge why and how a service is being provided'
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compare performance with others to see where improvements could be made;
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consult local taxpayers, service users, partners and the wider business community in the setting of new performance targets;
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compete wherever practicable, fairly and openly to provide the best services.
The reviews should produce demanding targets with clear action plans for how they are to be achieved.
Other principles of Best Value include:
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being accountable to local people – councils have to listen to and consult the people they are there to serve; they have to report regularly on what they have achieved and what they are planning;
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looking to continuously improve – sometimes this will come through many small changes, sometimes through larger changes when the existing service is fundamentally challenged;
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setting targets and publicly reporting achievement against them;
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cutting across departmental boundaries, rather than just looking at services individually – councils can also work with other local agencies to tackle issues beyond the reach of a single service and need cooperative working with partner bodies;
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developing partnerships with the private sector, with communities and agencies, and between authorities – these partnerships will be able to review services jointly, develop local plans, acting together to achieve local outcomes, and provide services in some cases;
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being open about service delivery – councils should not assume that they should deliver activities if other more efficient and effective means are available; this is not to say, however, that authorities must contract their services out – what matters is what works best for delivering services to the community, so an open mind is needed.
Best Value should not be seen as an extra job, just another new initiative adding to the workload. It is part of what should be done in everyday jobs, all the time.