West Oxfordshire District Council

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Performance of services

We are committed to providing high quality services that reflect value for money. To achieve this, the 'Council Plan' sets out eight core aims and a set of priority strategies, which link into and underpin our service planning process. Every Service produces a two year forward plan, which is updated on a yearly basis. (Please click on Service Plans for more details).
In general the Council's performance is comparable to similar District Council's in the region.

Best Value

Continuous improvement is the underlying principle of Best Value and it places a duty on local authorities to do this in an efficient, effective, economic and equitable way. The 'Best Value Review' process challenges and explores alternative options for service delivery. Reviews can identify significant service improvements that reflect local and national priorities.

The Council can decide what services to look at, when to look at them and how to review them. The Review process has evolved so that there is now more emphasis on 'cross-cutting' Reviews, which cover a wider range of service areas and offer a greater potential for achieving significant improvements.

A key aspect of all Best Value Reviews is the 4C's framework:

Challenge - the purpose of the services.
Compete - with other service providers.
Compare - our performance with other local authorities.
Consult - the community to identify the key issues.

A sample of all Best Value Reviews is audited by 'The Best Value Inspectorate' each year to ensure that the 4 C's have been rigorously applied. The Inspectorate also assesses the quality of the Reviews Improvement Plans.

Consultation

The Council has a statutory duty to undertake formal consulation in the form of a General Survey every three years. The Audit Commission dictates the survey content, layout and distribution timings and the results are reported to them.

Authorities in Oxfordshire, including the County Council, formed a consortium in order to meet stautory requirements in the most cost effective way. They commissioned a market research company to undertake the survey on their behalf. A copy of the final report can be viewed by clicking Best Value General User Survey 2006/07 Report.

Best Value Performance Plans

Each year we produce a Best Value Performance Plan to show how the Council has performed. The Plan is a requirement of the Local Government Act 1999 and must set out our Corporate objectives, information about the services we provide, our levels of performance and plans for future improvement. Performance indicators and targets are also included.

The results of the Best Value Performance Plan for 2007/08 can be viewed by clicking Best Value Performance 2007/08. Performance indicator tables are embedded in the 'Our Performance' section of the document. These tables provide information on the Council's past and current performance, whilst also comparing results with similar district councils across the country. 2007/08 is the last year of formally reporting Best Value Performance Indicators as they will, in general, be replaced in 2008/09 by a new set of National Indicators. However, some BVPIs will continue to be reported.

Local Performance Indicators 2007/08 have also been developed which complement National Performance Indicators and reflect Local service delivery priorities.

Annual Audit and Inspection Letter

Each year councils are reviewed by an external independent auditor appointed by the Audit Commission.

The external auditors carry out various specific projects together with taking a general overview of the Council's operations, finances, management and performance. At the conclusion of their review they issue an Annual Audit and Inspection Letter which summarises their findings and provides an independent statement on the overall management of the Council.