Best Value
Under the Local Government Act 1999, all Local Authorities have a legal duty to achieve Best Value in the delivery of services to the public.
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”.
In practice, this means that authorities need to regularly review their activities in line with Best Value legislation and ensure there are action plans from these reviews to ensure improvement will take place. This improvement involves consideration of costs as well as making the most of money spent, making sure that services meet the needs of communities and authorities' priorities.
When undertaking a review, authorities must make sure that they:
(a)Challenge whether the service should be delivered in the same or a different way or if it should be provided at all. They will need to take account of changes in the needs of users and explore whether these needs can be met in different ways.
(b)Compare how services are provided by other authorities and possibly other organisations; compare performance information with other authorities or other providers such as voluntary and private sector organisations.
(c)Consult key stakeholders, including service users, residents, staff, businesses and partners such as health authorities. Local authorities will be expected to find ways to give people a real say in developing a vision for the delivery of services.
(d)Embrace fair Competition as a means of securing efficient and effective services.
Hackney is committed to securing continuous improvement in everything that it does.
The most successful organisations recognise that to meet customers’ and stakeholders’ rising expectations it is important to develop a culture of continuous improvement. In order to aid this development and to support the Council in its journey towards excellence, we have replaced Best Value Reviews with a programme of Service Improvement Reviews that will enable quicker and more focused reviews to be carried out on targeted service areas, thereby delivering faster service improvements.
Page updated: 20 Dec 2007