10 September 2004
Local authorities believe Best Value is achieving significant improvements to services but there is still widespread dissatisfaction with the accompanying inspection regime, according to new research.
A study by the Centre for Local and Regional Government Research at Cardiff University has found that 80% of councils think the regime has led to robust and challenging scrutiny of services.
But the research, commissioned by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, also reveals that just 35% of authorities believe that the benefits of external inspection outweigh the costs.
The findings suggest that the improvements achieved under Best Value are principally the result of the internal service reviews conducted by each authority.
Respondents said the regime, introduced by Labour in 1998, had brought about changes in authorities' behaviour. Eight out of ten say their councils now encourage appropriate risk-taking, while 76% are encouraged to innovate. Nine out of ten say their councils have a strong focus on improvement.
PFsep2004
