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The Best Value 2 Conference

How to become a Best Value council
The Best Value 2 Conference

Monday 22nd March 2010

Sheraton Grand Hotel, Edinburgh


Conference chair:
Keynote speakers:
  • Professor Lorne Crerar, former Chair, Independent Review of Regulation, Audit, Inspection and Complaints Handling in Scotland
  • Fiona Lees, Chief Executive, East Ayrshire Council (BV2 Pathfinder council)
  • Bernadette Malone, Chair, SOLACE Scotland
  • Paul O'Brien, Chief Executive, Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE)
Also presenting:


Best Value audits of councils are about ensuring the continuous improvement of public services. The second round of audits - know as BV2 - is a brand new approach affecting every single council across Scotland.

Best Value and Community Planning audits, carried out by the external, independent Accounts Commission, are a statutory duty placed on local authorities to demonstrate their on-going commitment to providing better services to local people using the £19 billion of public money that they spend annually.

Best Value was introduced on a voluntary basis in 1997 and became statutory following the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003. BV audits have been carried out as a ‘rolling programme’ since 2004, and councils have generally only had one - unless they are from a poorer performing council. The next round under BV2 are scheduled on the basis of risk, with more intensive audit activity for poorer performers and a more hands-off approach for the better ones.

The Accounts Commission is currently working on the second phase of audits, drawing on continuing discussions with councils and the findings of the independent Review of the Best Value Audit process in 2007. The audits will assess the extent to which every Council is meeting its duties - and agree planned improvements.

BV2 is being rolled out in January 2010, will be more proportionate and risk-based with streamlined scrutiny, it will introduce a clear assessment of how council services perform, with a focus on partnership working. It will also listen more closely to local people and monitor the way councils respond to the views of service users, involve senior officers and elected members from other bodies in audit teams and provide greater support for improvement.

Reports are based on interviews with staff, observation of Councils and management meetings, site visits, surveys of partners and elected members and reviews of documentary evidence. Each Council then responds by developing an improvement plan for submission to the Accounts Commission. Impacting on the working lives of council staff in every department Best Value poses a challenge for councils to show what they can do - but there’s also a reputational risk involved.

This conference will provide the essential guide to BV2 – understanding how it works, how it will impact on your authority and how you can make it work for you. You will have the opportunity to hear directly from the Pathfinder councils involved with the pilot schemes, learn how to become a Best Value council, understand the key differences from the original BV and share best practice with fellow councils.

What will Best Value 2 mean on the ground and what is the new direction of travel? How do you deal with the Accounts Commission in discussions, meetings, interviews and site visits? How effective is community planning and partnership working across Scotland? How does this fit into Single Outcome Agreements and the wider scrutiny agenda? What is the real capacity for improvement in a downturn?

At this conference you will learn all about the new Best Value, what it means on the ground for you, network with a wide range of delegates and learn from all of the key players in the process as we embark upon the brand new journey of BV2.
  • Understand how BV2 works
  • How it will impact on your authority
  • How you can make it work for you
  • Hear directly from the Pathfinder councils involved with the pilot schemes
  • Learn how to become a Best Value council
  • Understand the key differences from the original BV
  • Share your best practice with fellow councils


Conference development by: Duncan Thorp

 
  
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