What is Best Value?

Date Published: 14 January 2020

Aberdeenshire Council will be going through its Best Value review audit in the next few months so now is the time to find out what it means to staff and how you can be involved.

A microsite has been launched that covers all aspects of the audit process. It includes a document called 'Our Story' which sets out how we’re doing as an organisation and tells our story from the previous audit with support from an evidence bank.

Best Value is about ensuring there is good governance and effective management of resources, with a focus on improvement, to deliver the best possible outcomes to the public. The duty of Best Value applies to all public bodies across Scotland and is a statutory requirement for councils. Regulator Audit Scotland will be assessing all 32 local authorities nationally.

Colleagues from across the council learnt about Best Value in the first Team Talk of the new year. Questions ranged from whether Best Value would have an impact on the council in the future; how the results of the review will be shared, and role elected members would play.

The Team Talk was led by Kate Bond, Head of Customer Communication and Improvement and lead officer for Best Value. Speaking afterwards, Kate said: “I am glad to see so many colleagues across the council take a real interest in Best Value. For me, Best Value is about how we ensure that decisions are taken in the best interests of our communities we serve, how we spend public money, are we identifying and making improvements where needed and, most importantly, how do all these processes inspire our communities to trust us with the delivery of local services. So, while this is a corporate audit, the success is based on what we do as individuals and teams to deliver the best possible service for our residents.”

If you missed the Team Talk you can view a video of it here. The communications team is also keen to know what you think so if you took part or have seen the video have your say by completing a survey here..  Please make sure you let us know your thoughts by the end of Friday, February 7.