Industrial relations and manpower

This article provides the first empirical evidence on the impact of Best Value processes on local service quality, costs, efficiency and accountability. Views were obtained from a wide range of personnel involved in the pilot programme in Wales by means of a postal questionnaire and interviews. The evidence shows that so far Best Value has had a positive impact on quality and accountability but little impact on service costs. Perceptions of the impact of Best Value are significantly more positive in authorities that adopted a corporate approach to the pilot process.