Best Value

What is Best Value?

All local authorities have a duty of Best Value. The key requirement of this duty is to deliver continuous improvement in everything we do, whilst keeping an appropriate balance between quality and cost. This means that the Highland Council must have the management arrangements in place to deliver this continuous improvement.

In simple terms these arrangements mean:  

1.  Understanding how we are performing
2.  Planning to improve
3.  Delivering the improvements 

1.  Understanding how we are performing
Understanding performance is about having the information available to understand where we can improve what we do. We need to get this information from a number of sources. The information below illustrates activities across the whole council.

What citizens and users think - A comprehensive public performance survey each year. In addition more targeted surveys are carried out on specific user groups or issues.
     
How well we use our resources - Information on budgets, performance of technology, and the use of our property and how we manage information. 
     
How well we manage - A self - assessment exercises with the senior management team against good practice.
     
How do we compare with other providers - Data on a comprehensive range of performance issues (These are required by the Scottish Executive). 
     
Do we meet the required standards - There are national required standards for service provision on in Education, Social Work Housing amongst others.

2. Planning to Improve
We have a range of strategic plans covering our activities with other public sector agencies, the whole council, services and specific service delivery units.

Community Plan
A comprehensive strategic plan developed with Wellbeing Alliance Partners* covering all aspects of Highland life. 
   
Corporate Plan
A strategic plan of what the council as a whole is aiming to achieve over the next three years shaped by performance and the Community Plan.
   
Service Plans
Each Service’s strategic plan shaped by service performance and the Corporate Plan.
   
Operational Plans
The more detailed plans showing specifically what will be done to deliver the strategic plans. 

*(Wellbeing Alliance includes: Northern Constabulary, NHS Highland, Scottish Natural Heritage, Communities Scotland, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Voluntary Action Highland).

3. Delivering the improvements
Through implementing the plans above we aim to continuously improve what we do. It is important that we monitor and evaluate our progress on an ongoing basis to check we are delivering against our own and citizen’s expectations. Monitoring delivery is done through:

• Elected members scrutinising plans and monitoring progress corporately and by service;
• Senior Management implementing plans;
• Reporting to the public (through the public performance report) on how well we are doing;
• Audit Scotland carrying out a comprehensive audit of the way we manage;
• Various inspectorates gauging the way the council manages improvement.

The Information is a simplified view of the Council’s arrangements under Best Value and if you would like more detail of the arrangements or to obtain copies of any of the documents that are referred to above, please contact John Robertson 01463 702839.