We are pleased to present the Audit Commission’s Strategic Plan 2006. This has been prepared following consideration of the responses to the consultation document published in November 2005. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to the consultation and helped shape this Strategic Plan, which is set out under five strategic objectives.
Our five strategic objectives:
- To raise standards of financial management and financial reporting.
- To challenge public bodies to deliver better value for money.
- To encourage continual improvement in public services so they meet the changing needs of diverse communities and provide fair access for all.
- To promote high standards of governance and accountability.
- To stimulate significant improvement in the quality of data and the use of information by decision makers.
Extensive reforms of local public services continue. Associated with these, the government has announced plans to merge 11 public services inspectorates into 4. We are therefore taking this opportunity to set out how the Audit Commission will deliver regulation that is appropriate to this new context. Our overriding objective must be to contribute to improved public services which meet the diverse needs of local communities and provide better value for public money.