Local Districts better value for money than County Council
Bedford Borough, Mid Beds and South Bedfordshire District Council have bucked a national trend with better financial management than Bedfordshire County Council an independent Audit Commission report on “use of resources” shows.
All three councils are currently bidding to take over county services and the report shows they are doing much better than the county at managing local spending and providing value for money.
Nationally County Councils do better than Districts but not in Bedfordshire. Bedfordshire County Council only meet minimum standards for value for money, financial management, internal control and financial standing and they are below these for financial reporting. Bedford Borough, Mid Beds and South Bedfordshire District Council score higher than the County in almost all categories and for many they are performing consistently above minimum requirements and performing well.
Authority | Use of
| Financial
| Financial
| Financial
| Internal
| Value for
|
Bedfordshire
| 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Bedford Borough | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Mid Bedfordshire
| 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
South Bedfordshire
| 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 |
The Audit Commission’s Use of resources work is carried out yearly at all councils as part of the external audit by appointed auditors. They produce a judgement for each of five themes, covering:
· financial reporting – how well the council prepares its accounts and promotes external accountability;
· financial management – how well the council plans and manages its finances;
· financial standing – how well the council safeguards its financial position;
· internal control – how well the council ensures its money is spent properly and that significant business risks are managed; and
· value for money – how well the council achieves value for money for the community from the money it spends.
The auditor’s judgement is based on a scale of 1 to 4 (highest) which determines how well a council is performing against minimum standards. The overall use of resources score is calculated by the Commission using a set of rules for combining the auditor judgements for each of the five themes.
Ken Matthews, Deputy Leader of Mid Beds District Council said: “This goes to show what we’ve been saying all along – your money is better managed locally and will be even better managed once we take over County Council services. The Audit Commission shows we provide better financial management and better value for money. We use money raised locally on local services and make sure the best use is made of the council tax we take.
“Bedfordshire County Council is the third highest charging county in the country but it can’t control its finances. They may say they are improving, but do you want a council said to be improving or an authority who already gets it right? Can you trust them to collect your council tax and control planning, environmental health and benefits? You decide!”
ENDS
