Best Value was introduced in 1997, with the main purpose being to guarantee that local authorities will seek to deliver continuous improvement in all its services while taking care to consider economy, efficiency, effectiveness, equity and the environment. Best Value also requires councils to:
- challenge whether and how they should provide a service
- compare their services with those provided by others
- consult with service users, local residents and the business community
- assess the competitiveness of the performance of their services with other provider
Audit of Best Value - Glasgow City Council
The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 established Best Value and Community Planning as statutory duties for local authorities. To check that local authorities are meeting the requirements of the Act, all councils are subject to an audit of their arrangements as part of a rolling audit programme. The audit is based around a self assessment exercise, backed up by an audit undertaken by Audit Scotland. The Council's first self assessment report was completed in August 2005 and the Audit Scotland Report was published in January 2006.
In response to the audit report, we developed a plan of improvement actions and Audit Scotland were requested to prepare a report on the progress that the Council had made by 31st December 2008.
This progress report was published on 15th April 2009 and again provides a positive picture of the development that the Council is making. The report notes that we are making good progress in relation to delivering Best Value and that we are able to demonstrate positive outcomes for those who visit, work and live in Glasgow. The improvement actions that we set ourselves following our first audit are now largely completed and we have made progress towards long-term improvements and key outcomes.
In the Autumn of 2008, we undertook a further self-assessment audit using a method designed for the public sector, based on an internationally accredited assessment model. This self assessment exercise has helped to refresh our improvement plans and looks towards the next round of local authority Best Value Audits in Scotland which are due to commence shortly.
The Audit Scotland progress report and all other documents referred to above can be accessed by clicking on the links below.