The Committee was asked to note the outcome of the Council’s self-assessment against the guidance on the Best Value Duty which was one of the workstreams arising from the non-statutory Best Value Notice response programme.

Members recalled that under the Local Government Act 1999, local authorities must legally deliver what was termed ‘Best Value’.  In practice, this meant that a Council had to demonstrate and evidence that it had suitable arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions were exercised, and having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.   

By way of background, Officers explained that the previous Government had consulted with the sector in 2023 in order to develop guidance to provide greater clarity on how to fulfil the Best Value Duty by describing what constituted best value, the standards expected  and the models of intervention that could be used in the event of failure to uphold these standards. 

Members noted that there were seven themes identified in the guidance that together delivered continuous improvement.  These were: leadership, governance, culture, use of resources, service delivery, partnerships and community engagement. 

Officers advised that in response to the non-statutory Best Value Notice, one of the workstreams was to perform a self-assessment against the guidance to reflect and identify areas of strength as well as areas for improvement to demonstrate and evidence the Council’s self-awareness and continuous improvement.  

Members were asked to note the outcome of the exercise which had involved significant and comprehensive work from Officers from across the organisation to assess the Council’s position against the Best Value guidance.  Officers cautioned that at the time work commenced, the guidance was still in draft and the final guidance post-consultation was not published until May when the majority of work to evidence the Council’s position had completed.  However, the changes to the guidance had been taken into account in the assessment.

Officers confirmed that the process was designed robustly to deliver the self-assessment.   

Officers in the Project Management Office prepared an initial draft narrative for each of the 73 characteristics of a well-functioning authority that was described in the guidance for each of the 7 themes.  Officers reported that several workshop events had taken place to complement the evidence amassed for each element and signpost to other documentation or Officers in order to gather further information.   

It was explained that Officers who had not been involved in the development of the narratives for each characteristic were identified, with their role to review the position statement, sample the evidence, assign a score and provide a commentary on the justification for that score, including any gaps or additional areas to address.  Members agreed this was important to ensure an impartial and independent review.  In terms of process, another round of input was then carried out by the Project Management Office based on the feedback provided by reviewers. 

Officers reported that all 73 position statements had been reviewed and some scores had been amended to ensure consistency in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21