Thurrock Council - Housing Services Audit 2002

Thurrock B C Housing Services June 2002 © Audit Commission, 2002 ‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹‹ June 2002 Thurrock B C – Housing Services Improving public services The Government has placed a duty of local councils to deliver services to clear standards – of cost and quality – by the most economic, 1efficient and effective means available. Best value is a challenging framework designed to improve local services. Councils are required to assess their own performance and put in place measures to ensure continuous improvement in all of their services. Councils must show that they have applied the 4Cs of best value: challenging why and how a service is being provided; comparing their performance with others’ (including organisations in the private and voluntary sectors); embracing fair competition as a means of securing efficient and effective services; and consulting with local taxpayers, customers and the wider business community. The Government has decided that each council should be scrutinised by an independent inspectorate. The Audit Commission’s Inspection Service performs this role. The purpose of the inspection and of this report is to: enable the public to see whether best value is being delivered; enable the council to see how well it is doing; enable the Government to see how well its policies are working on the ground; identify failing services where remedial action may be necessary; and identify and ...