Best Value 2 pathfinder: The Highland Council

Intro:  My name is Fiona Deans, I’m joined by the Chair of the Accounts Commission, John Baillie, and today we are going to be talking about the Best Value 2 pathfinder report on The Highland Council.

1.  What are your overall messages?

There are two new judgements included in the report which give an overall flavour of how the council is performing.  We’ve concluded that the council is improving well and also that it is well placed to deliver future improvement.

Generally, we feel the council’s performance is positive.  The local authority, along with its partners, has a clear vision for the Highlands and it has made good progress in addressing areas for improvement set out in its first Best Value report in 2006.

2.  What’s the council doing well?

The services the council provides are generally of good quality.  They are responsive to local communities and customer satisfaction in them is high.  

The council has strong political and managerial leadership and we particularly welcome evidence that elected members now provide a clear and consistent community leadership and strategic direction, combining concern for local issues with a shared ambition for the community as a whole. The council also has sound financial monitoring arrangements and has a good record of actively managing its budget.

The council works effectively with its partners and consults and listens to the communities it serves.  The feedback it gets from local communities also means it knows where it needs to improve. 

3.  What needs to improve?

The council should look to improve its corporate asset management and workforce planning and ensure it has effective mechanisms which allow it to test for value for money and demonstrate competitiveness. 

Some improvement is required in service areas such as adult social services and the management of housing rent arrears.

Progress should also be made as a matter of urgency on the council’s review of pay and terms and conditions and to resolve continuing legacy issues from former district and regional council structures.  These have been outstanding for some years and they present a significant financial and staff morale risk.

4. You’ve already said that the thing people are most concerned about – council services - are generally good.  Most of your recommendations for improvement seem to be about performance management.  This won’t be very tangible to most people - why should they care about this?

We regard the council’s performance management framework as sound, and it is continuing to develop its approach along with its partners.  However, we feel the council could further improve its approach.  The council should also ensure that it has effective mechanisms to test for value for money and demonstrate competitiveness. Local people will benefit from any improvement in these areas through better performing and more efficient services.  These things are also essential to allow elected members to make clear decisions, especially at the moment while budgets are under increasing pressure.  

5.  What happens now?

The council will consider the report and what actions it plans to take to addresses the issues highlighted.  Some of these will already be included in its improvement plan.    Local audit and inspection teams will continue to monitor the progress of the recommendations.  

The issues identified in the report will also feed into the Assurance and Improvement Plan for the scrutiny of The Highland Council.  This is a plan that is put together for each council after a Shared Risk Assessment with all the other audit and inspection agencies.  It tells the council what audit and inspection it can expect over the next three years.