30 November 2001
The Welsh Assembly's finance minister has defended in resolute terms the decision to 'rebadge' Best Value and dilute the role of external inspection in the principality.
In a forthright address to CIPFA's Public Services in Wales conference, Edwina Hart said that abandoning the term Best Value did not mean moving away from the principles on which it is based. She said that there would simply be a change of emphasis towards 'corporate assessment' by councils.
'The Best Value inspection regime hasn't really worked in Wales. Local authorities have been fed up with the bureaucracy and the fact that they have reports telling them that they cannot improve when the whole purpose of Best Value is to improve,' she said.
The minister suggested that Wales 'had lost its way' in adopting England's approach to review and inspection. The new Wales Programme for Improvement would be 'exceptionally vigorous', and would disprove assertions that Wales is a 'backwater' in terms of Best Value.
'The roles of audit and inspection I regard as important. But I will ensure that they are focused to where they can add value, rather than being a substitute for the proper management of the authority itself,' Hart added.
The approach of the Audit Commission in Wales came under fire from a number of delegates at the conference. There were calls for the commission's size to be reduced and for it to desist from commenting on councils' policy objectives.
Gill Lewis, a district auditor in Wales, defended the commission's approach, but accepted that 'auditor-bashing' had become widespread in Wales. She said the watchdog would need to shift its emphasis away from regulation and towards improvement.
Lewis also defended the commission's occasional comments on policy decisions. 'I think where audit can legitimately comment is where the policies result in actions in delivery of service that are not seen to be good practice.'
But the politicians in the audience were not overly impressed. Councillor Jim Williams, from the Vale of Glamorgan, summed up opinion with a quote from a local farmer: 'No matter how many times you weigh a pig, you won't fatten it.'
PFnov2001
