Community Planning Aberdeen – podcast transcript.
I’m here with John Baillie, chair of the Accounts Commission to talk about a new report on Community Planning Aberdeen.  
 John, can you tell me what this report is all about?
Well, it is a Community Planning Partnership. These were set up ten years ago to bring together councils, health boards and other public, business and voluntary bodies to sit down together to tackle complex problems in local communities.
In Aberdeen, the partnership has gone through a few name changes – now Community Planning Aberdeen. It is one of three pilot reports we carried out to help get a national overview of where community planning is now.
These partnerships deal with real, nitty gritty problems which matter to people – reducing crime, how schools are doing, providing jobs, joining up health and social care, and reducing social inequalities.
So how has Community Planning Aberdeen been doing?
Well, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag. The North-east isn’t unusual in that respect. There is a lack of evidence that Community Planning Partnerships anywhere in Scotland have made an impact on deep-seated problems such as reducing inequalities. They have not met the ambitious goals set for them.
But there certainly has been some progress in Aberdeen over the years with agencies working better together for example  to improve links between health and social services and tackling problems from drink and drugs.
Now Community Planning Aberdeen has also gone through a number of reforms but the commitment from all partners, particularly NHS Grampian, has to be clear and consistent. We have been encouraged by recent changes and an emphasis on prevention but that momentum needs to be maintained. 
And where can it improve?
Well, that is where the wider picture comes into play. There is a strong drive now at national level for change.
Community planning in Scotland really stands at a crossroads. There is now a unique opportunity to seize the nettle and make it work effectively. The Scottish Government and councils are keen on this but it will need strong and sustained leadership and support from them to deliver it.
It’s not going is not going to be easy in Aberdeen or indeed anywhere else. On the plus side, there is this opportunity to establish a new system enabling partnerships to make a real difference on the ground. But this requires fundamental changes in culture, shifting mainstream resources and seeing the wider benefit of necessary changes to make it work
What do you want to see happen next?
Well, the review sets out the many challenges that lie ahead.  It is now up to the council and all its partners and the government to make effective community planning a reality.  And it they do succeed, I think Aberdeen and indeed other cities and communities around Scotland will feel the benefit. 

John, thank you very much.