Plans And Policies

Best Value is an initiative brought in by the Labour Government and is:

"… a duty which will require local authorities to deliver the quality of service that local people expect at a price they are willing to pay."

Best Value means Omagh District Council has to put the public first as far as service provision is concerned as it is designed to promote local accountability and continuous improvement in service performance in order to achieve efficient, effective and economic service delivery.The new Local Government (Best Value) Act (Northern Ireland) 2002, which made Best Value a legal obligation for local government in Northern Ireland, places a duty on Council's to:

" …make arrangements for continuous improvement in the way in which their functions are exercised."

This establishes a general duty of ensuring Best Value in the delivery of all district council functions and services having regard to economy, efficiency and effectiveness. The emphasis of the legislation is on Omagh District Council conducting a continuous search to improve the services we provide for the public. Best Value therefore requires us to ask the following question of every Council function and service - can it change and be more efficientIn its pursuit of continuous performance the Council has introduced a system of corporate planning combined with a formal departmental busienss planning process. These Business Plans provide a framework and set the standards for the future delivery, monitoring and evaluation of all Council functions and services. They are designed to show how the function or service will meet its agreed performance improvement targets, identify where responsibilities lie for taking action, how progress is going to be monitored and the resources required.

Omagh District Council aims to provide services that are responsive to the changing needs and the expectations of local people as well as services that consistently meet measurable, regular improvement. Our overall aim is to find the optimal balance between cost and quality in our service provision and concentrate on achieving efficient, effective and economic service delivery for our community.