Best Value

Giving you Best Value

"Best Value" means that the Council must look at what it does so it can make real and positive improvements to the services you receive.

Everything we do will be looked at over the next five years.

To identify the improvements we will:

• Challenge

  Whether the services we provide are the services you need and want and if there is any way we can improve them. We must think differently about the way we tackle major issues such as the environment and community safety.

• Compare

  With other organisations to see how they operate so we can find the best and most cost effective way of doing things. Knowing how our services compare with other Council's services means you can judge the value of our services.

• Consult

  With you as local residents, taxpayers, businesses, local groups etc., to find out what your views are about the services we provide and the services you would like us to provide. However, the amount of money available to spend on services is limited so there has to be a balance between desirable and essential services.

• Compete

  "What matters is what works". We must look at different and better ways of delivering services. This could mean the Council and another organisation working together to deliver a service or another organisation delivering the service instead of the Council.

To make sure that all these things happen and happen properly, the Government has set up a Best Value Inspectorate. The Inspectors will carry out independent checks to see if we are making improvements.

Ultimately, the aim of "Best Value" is that you, the customer, will benefit from improved services that you value more.