Contact: Richard Hawkins – Corporate Services – 01962 871640

  1. Summary
  2. The priorities for Best Value review have been updated through the gathering and analysis of both internal and external information and analysed in conjunction with the rest of the workload of the Quality Development Team in Corporate Services.
  3. The analysis of this information has resulted in the conclusion that no Best Value Review should be conducted by the Constabulary in 2006/07.
  4. Section 3 of the Police and Justice Bill currently passing through Parliament states that police authorities will no longer be best value authorities with regard to Sections 7-9, Section 13(5) and S15(2) of the Local Government Act 1999.
  5. The Best Value Review Programme should be ceased at the conclusion of the Procurement Review with the only remaining activity to be the monitoring of outstanding actions through to their completion.
  1. Best Value Planning Process and Review Programme
  2. Following the adoption of a new approach to determining the Best Value Review Programme in 2004, the priorities identified at that time were re-visited and an updated view formed.
  3. Corporate Services staff performed this task by considering external factors, e.g. HMIC/Audit reports, outcomes of Baseline Assessment and emerging legislation and internally generated information such as performance data and issues from performance assessments.
  4. The issues outlined at paragraph 2.2 were considered along with Audit Commission/HMIC guidance that reviews should be strategic in nature. Consequently other factors were considered including the National Policing Plan, Hampshire policing priorities, the Policing Performance Assessment Framework (PPAF) and Home Office Guidance.
  5. The analysis outlined at 2.2 and 2.3 above revealed that the areas identified as representing the most significant risk to the Constabulary in terms of under performance were already the subject of significant improvement activity. For example contact with the public was reviewed by Programme Mercury, Crime investigation is subject to improvement via the Professionalising the Investigation Process Project and all the areas rated as ‘Fair’ in the most recent HMIC Baseline Assessment (October 2005) have formulated improvement plans as part of the Constabulary’s approach to managing the Baseline process.
  6. The Quality Development team is currently formulating a single assessment process for OCUs and Departments that will encompass both HMIC BCU inspection and EFQM Model based methodologies. This approach will achieve many of the objectives of the BVR process, thus demonstrating continuous best value. Additionally the team has recently been given responsibility for ‘performance intervention’ on a Constabulary-wide basis, thereby gaining the ability to bring about performance improvements far more dynamically than was possible under the previous arrangements.
  7. The developments outlined in 2.4 and 2.5 have lead the Constabulary to believe that little could be gained by conducting a Best Value Review during 2006/07.
  8. Police and Justice Bill (2006)
  9. The Police and Justice Bill was published on January 25th 2006 and received it first reading in Parliament on that date. Section 3 of the Bill states that police authorities will no longer be best value authorities with regard to Sections 7-9, Section 13(5) and S15(2) of the Local Government Act 1999. The main effect of this will be to remove Police Authorities from the requirement to undertake best value reviews and produce best value performance plans.
  10. Other parts of the Local Government Act that refer to Best Value Authorities will still apply, including the duty of continuous improvement and having regard to economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
  11. The CIPFA Police Advisory Network, in their special briefing on the Police and Justice Bill, are advocating Forces and authorities to agree a minimal approach to Best Value Reviews this year whilst the changes from the legislation are awaited (depending upon dates of Royal Assent and enactment).
  12. Recommendations
  13. That the Best Value Review Programme be discontinued at the conclusion of the Procurement Review with the only remaining activity to be the monitoring of outstanding actions from this and previous reviews through to their completion.

Section 100D - Local Government Act 1972 -Background Papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

N.B. the list excludes:-

1. Published works.

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

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