37Best value
(1)It is the duty of the Authority to make arrangements which secure best value for the Authority (that is, a continuous improvement in the carrying out of the Authority’s functions).
(2)It is the duty of the chief constable to make arrangements which secure best value for the Police Service (that is, a continuous improvement in the carrying out of police functions).
(3)In securing best value, the Authority and the chief constable must maintain an appropriate balance among—
(a)the quality of the carrying out of functions,
(b)the cost of carrying out functions,
(c)the cost to persons of any service provided for them on a wholly or partly rechargeable basis by the Authority or, as the case may be, under arrangements made by the chief constable.
(4)In maintaining that balance, the Authority and the chief constable must have regard to—
(a)efficiency,
(b)effectiveness,
(c)economy, and
(d)the need to meet the equal opportunity requirements.
(5)The Authority and the chief constable must carry out their duties under this section in a way which contributes to the achievement of sustainable development.
(6)In measuring the improvement of the carrying out of functions for the purposes of this section, regard is to be had to the extent to which the outcomes of the carrying out of the functions have improved.
(7)In this section, “equal opportunity requirements” has the same meaning as in Section L2 of Part 2 of Schedule 5 to the Scotland Act 1998 (c.46).