Decision details

(Time: 3.53pm to 4.02pm)

The Executive received and considered report 117/07 of the Strategic Director and Monitoring Officer regarding proposals to streamline efficiency reviews.  Members noted that there were a number of different processes for carrying out service reviews.  Best Value Reviews had been carried out since 2000 when the statutory requirement was introduced by the Government.  However, the requirement had been removed by the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act in October 2007.  Despite this, there was a continuing need for Services Areas to prove that they were delivering efficient, effective, customer orientated services which ensured overall value for money.  The report recommended that Best Value Reviews should be superseded by an over-arching Organisational Development approach.  This emphasised continual and sustainable improvement and used a variety of methods to ensure service areas focused on providing value for money.  The Organisational Development framework had previously been agreed by the Executive and was being delivered as part of the Access to Services priority. 

Members welcomed the proposal to continue to review Council services and noted the revised methodology to do this.  There was a desire to see efficient services but not service reductions.  It was suggested that realistic targets should be developed to deliver efficiencies and should be included in forthcoming service plans. 

RESOLVED  (by six votes to nil, with one Member having left the meeting room)

(a)              that the current position with the Housing Services, White Horse Leisure & Tennis Centre and Partnership Effectiveness reviews be noted and that these Best Value Reviews be formally closed down;

(b)              that the following Best Value Reviews do not take place: Human Resources, Environmental Health and Building Control; and

(c)               that the Best Value Review approach is replaced with a continuing programme of service reviews under the over-arching Organisational Development framework, and that these should use appropriate methods to determine value for money and implement action plans for improvement and development.