External Best Value Audit of the Council

Best Value: A good Council getting better

The City of Edinburgh Council received an overwhelmingly positive review from the Accounts Commission in its Audit of Best Value and Community Planning.

Praise for the Council’s ‘strong leadership’, ‘ambitious vision’, and ‘clear strategic direction’ led the Commission’s assessment of Edinburgh’s overall performance and improvement programme.

The Commission’s report highlights many examples of good service and commends the Council’s commitment to improvement.

The report concluded that the Council:

• has an ambitious vision and clear strategic direction for a city with a high national and international profile;
• has strong and effective leadership from elected members and senior officers;
• works well with strategic partners to deliver major projects and events;
• is committed to continuous improvement and has invested in an extensive change programme covering core services, strategic projects, business processes and organisational culture;
• provides services that are generally improving, at a rate that is above the average for Scotland as a whole;
• has changed the way services are configured to provide a clear focus on its priorities and on key customer groups;
• is aware of where improvement is most needed.

The Best Value Audit was carried out by Audit Scotland during summer 2006. The report’s findings are based on more than 40 interviews, observation of the Council and management meetings, site visits, surveys of partners and elected members, and an extensive review of documentary evidence.

The Council will now develop an improvement plan for submission to the Accounts Commission.

The report can be accessed below or is also available on the Audit Scotland website.

Download a copy of the report here (PDF 1,101k)  

Best Value Report Rich Text Format (RTF 684k)

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What is Best Value?

Further information on the external Best Value Audit of the Council

Find out more about the City of Edinburgh Council's approach to Best Value