Local authority overview – podcast transcript

Anne: This is Anne McCubbin here to talk to Gordon Smail and Gillian Paterson about our report Overview of the local authority audits 2007.  Gordon, what’s this report about?

Gordon:  This is the report that we do each year.  We draw together the findings from our audit work over the course of the year and draw together the trends and emerging issues that we see from an audit point of view.  The main point, of course, is to highlight strengths and the areas that we see require further improvement.

Anne: So what have you found?

Gordon:  It’s a wide ranging report, we cover a number of topics but we’re certainly highlighting improvements in services particularly in areas such as council tax collection and waste recycling.  We’re also, of course, calling for a need for increased focus on certain key areas to make sure that councils are ready for the challenges that are ahead.

Anne: So how have councils performed compared with previous years, particularly bearing in mind the big changes over the past year.

Gordon: We’re certainly seeing improvements in key areas such as council tax collection – it’s up to around 94 percent of the amount due for the year collected in the year which is an improvement and a continuation of the trend we’ve seen.  We’ve also seen improvements in areas like recycling of waste.  I think it’s also worth keeping in mind the context for councils in past year since the elections back in May 2007 there have been real changes in the way councils go about their business.  These certainly look as if they’re bedding in well but we see a need for a review of these systems probably in the course of the next year or so to make sure that they’re effective and that they’re meeting councils’ expectations in terms of what they’re planning to do.

Anne: Thanks Gordon, Gillian you mention the need for councils to get better at long term planning – what’s the problem?

Gillian:  Councils need to take a longer term view in planning their resources that doesn’t just mean looking at financial resources, the costs of services, but also looking at the assets and the workforce, the people that they use in providing these services. Councils have made some progress in asset management, in resource planning, but our report emphasises some areas where they need to take into consideration in planning such as financial pressures and demographics and the impact those have on services.  I would emphasis that the longer term planning needs to be sustainable, maintained over time.

Anne: You also mentioned that performance management needs to get better.  What do you mean by this?

Gillian: There are various aspects to performance management. Councils need to set out clearly what they’re trying to achieve in providing services they also need to have good information to tell them whether or not they are achieving that, for example, through customer satisfaction.  They also need to report to the public in addition to officers and members on their performance. This reporting needs to be balanced highlighting areas of strength as well as areas for further improvement.

Anne: And finally Gordon, how can councils improve overall?

Gordon:  The Accounts Commission have issued findings on our report and they’ve highlighted a range of areas where more focus is required.  I’ll highlight one of two of the more significant ones, particularly around supporting and developing leadership in councils, demonstrating the benefits of working with other public bodies and taking a more strategic approach to resources and resource planning, really along the lines that Gillian mentioned earlier around strategic approach to planning, covering finance, workforce and assets.  Finally, the Commission’s calling for significant improvements in performance management to demonstrate service outcomes and, of course, this is a key element of the Concordat which has been agreed between Scottish Government and COSLA – so there’s an area there where councils need to do more.  

Anne: Gordon, Gillian, thanks very much.