The chapters in Part II provide an insight into the impact of austerity on local authority (LA) budgets and LAs’ individual responses to protect the wellbeing of their communities. This response is influenced by socio-geopolitical circumstances such as local opportunities for employment (particularly in the North-East, Chapter 7), the extent of devolution (for example, Devo Max in the North-West, Chapters 5 and 8) and the culture of commissioning.

Public services are commissioned and delivered, often on the basis of a hard-line demarcation between the responsibilities of council and contractor, when in fact if wellbeing is to be truly embraced a much more nuanced dynamic has to exist. This is very much an issue of culture and competence on all sides. The connection between Best Value and wellbeing is one that is not well understood in central and local government. However, the ‘Wigan Deal’ (Chapter 8) provides a consultative approach in which cultural changes in public attitude and behaviour complement financial gains and cost savings in the council budget.

It is important not to conflate ‘Best Value’ with any understanding of value for money or indeed the best price–quality ratio basis upon which contracts might be awarded in any tender process under the European Union procurement regime. It is clear that for both value for money and best price–quality ratio a range of factors can be taken into account, including socio-economic benefits (for HM Treasury's approach to ‘value for money’ see, for example, the Green Book (HM Treasury, 2018), which has moved considerably in embracing social value in recent years).

The Best Value Duty as it applies to local authorities in England is enshrined in section 3(1) Local Government Act 1999, which reads as follows:

Much of the complicated apparatus around this duty was repealed by the Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition government, including very detailed guidance previously issued by the previous Secretary of State (Hazel Blears), which is now in the shorter form (DCLG, 2015).