Inspectors

Lead Inspector

As Lead Inspector, you will be responsible for assessing a council where there are concerns of best value failure.

Inspections are usually short term and intensive, typically lasting a few months. However, this will depend on the urgency and complexity of the issues involved.

Your findings and their implications as well as any recommendations for next steps, including whether statutory intervention is appropriate, will need to be outlined in a report for the Secretary of State. The deadline for your report will be set out in your formal letter of appointment, along with the main pieces of evidence leading to the inspection, logistical details and any guidance as to the areas on which the Secretary of State would like you to focus.

Your report, along with other evidence, will be considered by the Secretary of State to determine how the government can further support the authority to ensure it complies with the best value duty, delivering value for money and services effectively to its residents.

Assistant Inspector

Following a recommendation by the Lead Inspector, the Secretary of State may decide to appoint an Assistant Inspector to support the best value inspection.

As Assistant Inspector, you will work jointly with the Lead Inspector to assess specific functions at the authority, as outlined in your formal letter of appointment, and reach a view on whether there is evidence of best value failure. Your findings and any recommendations will need to be detailed in an independent report for the Secretary of State.

Inspectors will need to be highly accountable for their work and will need to explain it to ministers, senior officials and other stakeholders as required.