A government inspector supported by two assistant inspectors are to carry out a best value inspection at Bedford Borough Council, as we continue to tackle the financial challenges facing the authority.
The trio will join us for three months to review our improvement journey.
Paul Najsarek, Margaret Lee and Parveen Akhtar have several decades of local government experience between them, with a strong track record of helping to drive improvements at other councils.
They will make an independent assessment of the Council’s arrangements to secure continuous improvement, focusing on a combination of economy, efficiency, and effectiveness.
They will evaluate the Council against seven core areas defined in Statutory Guidance
- Continuous Improvement
- Leadership
- Governance
- Culture
- Use of Resources
- Service Delivery
- Partnerships and Community Engagement.
A Bedford Borough Council spokesperson said; “We recognise that this is an important part of oversight by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).
“This is a challenging time for councils across the UK, and we are far from the first authority to undergo a best value inspection. It will allow the Government to have confidence in our direction of travel and the culture at Borough Hall.
“The Government has made clear that it recognises that Bedford Borough is at the heart of so much of its agenda, from house-building and East West Rail to Universal Studios theme park and the UK’s biggest roadworks scheme connecting Bedford to Cambridge.
“This does not change our commitment to delivering that agenda, as well as our ongoing task of providing the best possible services to residents across Bedford Borough, with our skilled and dedicated staff.”