The City Treasurer's department is embracing the government's proposals to replace Compulsory Competitive Tendering with a duty to deliver 'Best Value' by publishing a Best Value Action Plan.

The plan itemises nearly 180 actions which teams in the department will be taking between now and March 1999 to ensure the continuous improvement of their services.  These actions include taking steps to make sure customers can be involved in determining the way services are provided, and to ensure that those services are of a high quality and cost-efficient.

The Action Plan aims to build on the good performance the department is already achieving.  For example, the department has exceeded its target for the amount of council tax it collects consistently, and has the best collection performance in the whole country for business rates, whilst the cost of collection per property is 14% lower than the average for other metropolitan authorities across the country.  Similarly, the work the department carries out to minimise insurance risks has resulted in savings in insurance premiums of £635,000 over the past three years, and £840,000 over the next three years.

Councillor Arthur Waugh stated:

"The Action Plan makes clear the actions we are taking this year to improve how we involve customers in our services, and to make our services more efficient and efficient.  We want to show people what the department intends to achieve, and tell them on an ongoing basis how we are doing."

The Action Plan is part of the City Council's overall strategy for adopting the government's principles of Best Value for local government.

MORE INFORMATION: Liz Firmstone  01203 833951

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