Council Performance
The Performance Improvement Unit within the
Policy & Performance Service co-ordinates the management of the
Council’s performance.
The Unit is made up of the Performance
Improvement Coordinator and two Performance Improvement
Officers.
Key Areas of Responsibility:
- Collating and reporting data on all of the
Council’s national and local performance indicators
(PIs)
- Monitoring the progress of indicators
which have been under-performing
- Monitoring the progress of the Council’s
nine key objectives
- Publishing the annual Best Value
Performance Plan, which contains information on all of the
Council’s priorities, objectives, and achievements.
- Facilitating Best Value
Reviews
- Delivering training to staff and
councillors on performance management
- Liaising with various auditors and
inspectors.
Best Value
The Best Value initiative was introduced to
Councils in England and Wales in 2000.
The aim of Best Value is to improve the economy,
efficiency and effectiveness of local government through
performance management.
This is achieved by:
Best Value Performance Indicators
A national set of performance measures covering
aspects of local government services such as housing, environment,
planning, culture and leisure and community safety. These enable
councils to measure and compare performance, which should lead to
improvements in performance in the long term.
Best Value Performance Plan (BVPP)
An annual report published on the 30th June
covering the councils’ performance, achievements and future plans
is available to view.
Best
Value Performance Plan 2007/08 (342Kb)
Best Value Reviews
These provide an objective examination of Council
services. The purpose of the review is to secure significant
improvement to Council services. The review is carried out by a
team of Councillors, officers and external partners to give a range
of perspectives on the service.
The review revolves around the 4 C’s:
- Challenge – asking how the service is
delivered at the moment? Whether it should be delivered in a
different way? Are there new areas to develop? Are there any areas
of the service that should not be continued?
- Consult – asking the views of customers,
partners, the public etc about the service and using this feedback
to influence the service.
- Compare – looking at how similar services
are provided elsewhere in the public, voluntary or private sectors
and learning lessons from these models.
- Compete – demonstrating that the service
is competitive by looking at a range of different options for
future provision.
At the end of the review an Improvement Plan is
drawn up, pulling together the key information from the work around
the 4C’s to form an action plan for the next 5 years. The
improvement plan contains measurable actions with timescales, lead
officers and resource implications, and is designed to deliver real
improvements to service delivery.
Performance Management Strategy
Performance Management
Strategy. (2.10MB)