A positive 'spin' if ever there was one!

by EWAN LAMB

The official publication of a 'best value' assessment of Scottish Borders Council services by the national spending watchdog - a report brought to you in instalments by Not Just Sheep & Rugby a week ago - has sent the local authority into positive spin overdrive.

A reaction statement from SBC does not even mention the list of issues, shortcomings and problems which have combined to hamper and frustrate local government service delivery in the region even though they are identified in the Accounts Commission document.

Instead, SBC's news release even has a sub-heading entitled 'Strengths highlighted'.

The statement says: "We are welcoming the Best Value Assurance report published by Audit Scotland. The report recognises the steady progress and significant efforts we have made since the last Best Value review in 2010 to transform our services during a time when the financial outlook, as for most other councils, remains challenging."

"A number of key strengths are highlighted, including good performance in education and social work, effective financial planning and the key role we have in joint working to deliver ambitious economic initiatives.

Tracey Logan, Chief Executive at SBC commented: "Looking after our most vulnerable people and giving our children the best start in life are key priorities for the Council and we are justifiably proud of our track record across these areas.

“However, the report recognises that as a small rural authority covering a huge geographical area we face many challenges in order to improve and sustain high performance across all our service areas.

“We will take on board Audit Scotland’s feedback and recommendations, many of which we had already identified ourselves and are taking action on, and continue to drive forward transformational change across all our services through our Fit for 2024 programme.

“For example, we are already actively working with NHS Borders to improve joint working, and we also recognise that we need to do more to respond to the Community Empowerment Act in order to encourage and enable people to play their part more easily in their communities.

“A key priority for us going forward will be to improve our performance monitoring and measurement to demonstrate on a regular basis that the Council’s services are continuing to meet best value and identify quickly areas where further improvements are needed."

However, the Audit Scotland press release accompanying publication of the report contains a little less "sweetness and light".

According to the watchdog: "Scottish Borders Council has made steady progress as it continues to transform the way it delivers services. Working with other organisations will be key to the council achieving its ambitions for further changes.

"A report by the Accounts Commission, Scotland’s local authority watchdog, says the council must have clear plans to enable it to deliver its ambitious programme of transformation. The programme, called Fit for 2024, aims to improve how the council is run and save £30 million within the next five years.

"The Commission says it is important for the council to be clear about the senior level staff it needs and have the right mix of skills in its workforce to deliver services differently. It is also crucial that that all council staff contribute to the transformation plans.

"Although education, economic development and some social care services continue to improve, many services are performing below the national average. The council must do more to understand where and how these services need to improve."

Graham Sharp, Chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “The continued progress Scottish Borders Council has made to transform services is encouraging. Now it must focus on several critical areas including tackling under performing services, ensuring councillors have the right training to enable them to fulfil their responsibilities and getting to grips with both staff and community engagement.”

Hardly a ringing endorsement!

Culture shock! And more budget cuts to come.

EXCLUSIVE by DOUG COLLIE

The number of admissions at libraries and museums in the Scottish Borders fell significantly in 2018/19, and the Trust responsible for cultural and leisure services faces a tough financial future as the local council is to cut its management fee by three percent over the coming two years.

An annual report from Live Borders, which runs an extensive portfolio of sports facilities, libraries and museums for Scottish Borders Council, warns of the continuing financial challenges facing the Trust's directors and 400 staff.

At the same time a performance report for the last financial year shows a healthy increase in attendances at sports facilities but a disappointing slump in the numbers turning up at Borders libraries and museums.

During 2018/19 Live Borders invested £11.257 million in delivering its leisure, recreation and cultural services which were transferred from the council in 2016.

But SBC's financial contribution to the Trust fell from £5.520 million in 2017/18 to £5.475 million last year. And local authority money will drop further, to £5.315 million this year, and to £5.189 million in 2020/2021.

The accounts point out that Live Borders will have to fund all budgetary pressures, adding: "Live Borders continues to discuss the potential impact of these pressures with Scottish Borders Council".

In a section of the report headed Risk Management, Live Borders state: "One of the biggest risks facing the Trust will be maintaining financial stability and service delivery in the context of managing a large property portfolio and ambitious income generation targets alongside reduced levels of local authority funding".

The portfolio includes 15 sports facilities including six swimming pools, two sports halls, an outdoor sports complex and bowls hall, three artificial pitches, two high school sports centres, six libraries, 12 museums, an outdoor visitor centre, 14 community halls, ten community centres, a multi-function cinema, theatre and office complex, and an archive hub.

In 2018/19 Live Borders reported a deficit of £723,000. There was a pensions adjustment of £970,000.

The performance report posted on the council's website, reveals a 12 per cent increase in admissions to sports facilities - 873,112 compared to 779,704 in 2017/18. The operating loss on these facilities is given as £2.393 million (£2.357 million).

The number of visits to the collection of town libraries - the six run by the Trust do not include those SBC libraries now combined with contact centres and still in council control - fell sharply from 310,516 in 2017/18 to 292,339 - a drop of 18,177. The operating loss for this section of the cultural service is recorded as £1.010 million (£992,000).

Live Borders' collection of a dozen museums scattered across the Borders region attracted 127,072 visitors in 2018/19, 9,057 fewer than the 2017/18 total of 136,129. But the operating loss of £847,203 was considerably lower than the previous year's sum of £970,948.

Borders council slow to give 'power to the people'

EWAN LAMB concludes our series on Audit Scotland's investigation at Scottish Borders Council

The preparation and completion of locality plans for the Scottish Borders under the 2015 Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act are well behind schedule while asset transfers to local groups have also been slow to take off.

This sluggish implementation of community powers comes in for criticism in Audit Scotland's Best Value Assessment report - the first detailed look at Borders local government services since 2010.

According to the auditors: "The CPP (Community Planning Partnership) has been slow to implement the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. The Act aims to give communities more influence over how their council and its partners plan and provide services. It also establishes ways for residents to get more involved in local decision-making and service provision.

"A council is required to work with its community planning partners to engage with community bodies and improve local outcomes. Joint efforts and resources should be targeted on areas of greatest need to reduce inequalities." 

In the Borders case the CPP’s local outcomes improvement plan was produced late. The CPP’s locality plans are two years late and incomplete. 

"The CPP’s strategic board decided to commission a locality plan for each of all five Borders localities simultaneously. It did not prioritise localities or communities with the worst levels of deprivation or the poorest outcomes on issues such as health and education. All five locality plans remained in draft when they were considered by the CPP’s strategic board in June 2019. 

"Although they reflect the themes of the community plan, they will not be integrated with the community plan until they are finalised. Ambitions in locality plans have not been costed and are therefore not yet reflected in budgets of the council or its CPP partners. The strategic board was not advised when the locality plans would be finalised."

Meanwhile, Community Asset Transfers (CATs), participation requests and participatory budgeting are all at an early stage. 

Since January 2017 community groups have had a right to ask relevant public authorities to transfer land or buildings that they feel they could use more effectively. The council developed its own guidance on CATs in 2011. 

"Council officers and the council’s CPP partners have worked with community groups over the past two years to build capacity to encourage CATs", says the report. "The CPP has also funded a Men’s Shed Development Officer to build capacity on this specific issue. Nonetheless, the scale of CATs has been limited.

"There have been over 30 enquiries regarding CATs during the past two years. Of these, three have progressed to the submission of a formal application and one has been approved. The council recognises it is responsible for ensuring that CATs are viable and sustainable. They recognise that progressing CATs is at an early stage and will require further promotion and support by the council and its CPP partners."

And the report continues: "The CPP has been slow to empower and engage communities.

It is difficult for the council and its partners to determine progress because some indicators and measures in the community plan are not measurable or lack short-term and medium-term targets.

"Progress reporting includes little analysis of how activities drive performance or deliver improvements for local people. There are no arrangements to track the implementation of locality plans and these are not linked to either the CPP’s community plan or the council’s plans. A comprehensive performance management framework is needed."

Multiple issues beset Borders joint board

EWAN LAMB on Scottish Borders Council's partnership arrangements as seen by Audit Scotland

The Integrated Joint Board (IJB) set up by Scottish Borders Council and NHS Borders is grappling with a set of problems while a proposal to amalgamate public services under the control of a single authority has hit the buffers.

These are among the topics covered by Audit Scotland's Best Value assessment of SBC which Not Just Sheep & Rugby has been revealing over recent days.

A section of the report which looks at so-called partnership working says the council's work with the local health authority 'could be improved'.

Audit Scotland comments: "A proposal for a single public authority was not progressed. The council and NHS Borders serve the same geographical area and they have worked well in partnership on a number of issues over time, such as their joint appointment of the Director of Public Health, one of the first in Scotland. 

"In response to the Scottish Government’s national review of local governance in 2018/19, the council proposed the exploration of a single public authority for the Scottish Borders area. It was described as a starting point for dialogue with the Scottish Government and COSLA.

"However, whilst the proposal was reported to full council in September 2018, it did not receive the full support of the wider public sector community in Scottish Borders at that time and has not been progressed." 

Meanwhile the Scottish Borders Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board recognises it has more to do and developed a detailed improvement plan, the report points out. 

"The Scottish Borders Health and Social Care Partnership Integration Joint Board (IJB) assumed responsibility for the planning and commissioning of health and social care services from April 2016. It includes adult social care, community health services and those hospital services typically associated with the emergency care pathway (also known as unscheduled care). It is jointly funded by the council and NHS Borders, from which it also commissions services. The IJB’s strategic plan for 2018–2021 was renewed in 2018/19. 

"NHS Borders is at level four out of five in the NHS performance scale(meaning ‘at significant risk’). It received Scottish Government support of £10 million to help it break even in 2018/19. A similar budget shortfall is anticipated in 2019/20. This has serious implications for financial planning by the IJB, which has yet to set its 2019/20 budget. It also has implications for the council, which is a partner in the IJB and appoints members to its board. 

"The IJB worked with the council and NHS Borders to carry out self-evaluation and submitted a return to the MSG (Ministerial Strategic Group) in May 2019. The self-evaluation was carried out against proposals, with each proposal being assessed as either ‘not yet established’, ‘partly established’, ‘established’ or ‘exemplary’. The IJB evaluated itself as being not yet established in one area, partly established in 15 areas, established in six areas and exemplary in none. The area assessed as not yet established relates to agreeing budgets timeously. The IJB has identified improvement actions it needs to take forward.

"The IJB’s governance arrangements would be strengthened by regular attendance at board meetings

The IJB is governed by a board. Two meetings of the board, at the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019, were inquorate (not enough board members attended) and important decisions were deferred to subsequent meetings. Inconsistent attendance at board meetings may indicate a lack of commitment and it risks undermining the board’s effectiveness. 

"Challenges have also arisen from the rapid turnover of senior IJB officers. There have been four chief officers since the IJB was established in 2016, and no permanent chief financial officer. The lack of continuous leadership has impaired the IJB’s progress. However, there is now continuity in the position of chief officer and a refreshed effort by the council, NHS Borders and IJB to address their shared challenges cooperatively."

NEXT: THE COUNCIL AND COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT

Is Scottish Borders Council using resources well?

EWAN LAMB looks at another chapter of the Audit Scotland Best Value report on SBC.

The outsourcing of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) at Scottish Borders Council following the award of a £92 million contract to CGI UK Ltd proved to be "a challenging journey", according to the Audit Scotland investigators.

The contract was based on a contract previously negotiated between the City of Edinburgh Council and CGI under Public Sector Partner procurement guidelines.

Audit Scotland says in its Best Value Assessment report on SBC: "Through its contract with Scottish Borders Council, CGI is responsible for implementing a range of major ICT changes including: • replacing the council’s hardware systems • replacing its finance and human resources systems with a new integrated system: Business World enterprise and resource planning system (ERP) • providing enhanced cyber security arrangements and new offsite back-up facilities• developing a digital customer access (DCA) system to help the public access council services more easily, and at lower cost to the council. 

"The agreement with CGI has allowed the council to access the technical expertise and support of a major international company, as well as address risks with recruiting and retaining ICT staff in the area. 

"The new Business World ERP system was implemented from April 2017, cyber security arrangements have been improved and replacement of the council’s hardware is ongoing. The council has experienced problems with the full delivery of the benefits expected from the CGI contract. The implementation of the DCA was delayed and issues arose when the Business World ERP system was first introduced.

"Problems with third party service providers led to their removal and other contractors were required to rectify problems, although at no extra cost to the council. Council staff told the audit team that the new computer systems are often sluggish and that help desk support by CGI can be unresponsive. 

"Overall, the forecast benefits from the ICT contract have not materialised as soon as the council expected. The council’s new ICT arrangements should bring benefits in time. It expects that a CGI ICT service delivery centre in the Borders will boost the local economy."

In a section dealing with so-called workforce planning, Audit Scotland reports: "Workforce management has developed gradually and workforce planning remains challenging. The council should do more to understand and act on the views of staff.

"The council recognises that workforce planning needs to be developed further. The council faces a number of workforce challenges. For example, the age profile of the council’s workforce has implications for its evolving composition in future and the recruitment activity that will be needed to replace retirees. It may be more difficult to attract and retain officers to senior management roles than for a larger and more urban council. The council also faces private sector competition for staff with transferable skills at lower grades.

"The council should do more to understand the views of staff. We reported in 2010 that employees were concerned about the extent and pace of change. During this audit, staff told us that they saw limited engagement between the CMT (Corporate Management Team) and the workforce and that the CMT lacks visibility. 

"Wider staff views are unclear because there has been no council-wide staff survey since 2010. The council should be proactive in seeking the views of the whole workforce more regularly and provide staff with feedback. This could be challenging for staff groups with limited access to office technology. 

"The CMT is aware of the need to improve communication with staff and began a staff engagement programme during this audit. An ongoing series of roadshows for staff across the Scottish Borders is being used to explain the Fit for 2024 programme and to seek the views of staff. Some further information is now available to staff online."

On a more positive note, the report says:"There is evidence that the council undertakes effective options appraisals when tackling significant decisions. Options appraisals and business cases for changes to services, such as the outsourcing of ICT, setting up a trust for delivering cultural services and developing a long-term approach to the school estate are presented to members for consideration. 

"The Audit and Scrutiny Committee, in respect of its scrutiny functions, examines key decisions, including assessing whether projects have achieved their stated aims and achieved predicted savings. For example, the council’s investment in superfast broadband was assessed and reported on at the end of 2018 and the outsourced ICT contract was scrutinised in April 2019.

ne and a council-wide staff survey is planned for late 2019."

NEXT: IS THE COUNCIL WORKING WELL WITH PARTNERS?

How well is the council performing?

EWAN LAMB with another instalment from Audit Scotland's best value 'probe' at Scottish Borders Council

The public's satisfaction levels with services provided by Scottish Borders Council generally declined between 2012 and 2018, according to Audit Scotland's detailed analysis of the local authority's functions while performance reporting comes in for criticism from the authors of the so-called Best Value assessment.

However, it is not all bad news.

The report states: "Education services continue to perform well overall. Outcomes for children are above the national average and improving. The council’s performance against the LGBF (Local Government Benchmark Framework) indicator for the proportion of pupils entering ‘positive destinations’ improved from an already-high level, from 94.4 per cent in 2013/14 to 95.8 per cent in 2016/17. Positive destinations include higher education, further education, training, voluntary work and employment."

Social work and social care services’ performance is described as "mixed but improving".

"The Care Inspectorate and Healthcare Improvement Scotland inspected health and social work services for older people, from October 2016 to February 2017.The delivery of key processes, strategic planning and plans to improve services, leadership and direction were assessed as ‘weak’. 

"The IJB (Integrated Joint Board) has since developed an improvement plan to address the inspection’s recommendations. A progress report in May 2018 showed some improvement actions needed completion deadlines. A Progress review by Healthcare Improvement Scotland and the Care Inspectorate is under way.

"In April 2019, the Care Inspectorate reported on a criminal justice social work inspection, which focused on people subject to community payback orders. The council was ‘good’ in terms of its impact on people who have committed offences, and at assessing and responding to risk and need. Operational managers supported staff well. 

"Areas assessed as ‘weak’ areas were: improving the life chances and outcomes for people subject to a community payback order, and leadership of improvement and change. There was a lack of governance and oversight from senior officers and elected members and no performance management structure in place to drive service improvement."

From 2013/14 to 2017/18, the council’s performance declined for 14 indicators and declined by a margin of ten per cent or over the following four indicators: • quality ratings for children’s early years’ service providers – performance declined from 97.5 per cent of providers graded good or better for all quality themes, to 87.5 per cent • the proportion of invoices sampled that were paid within 30 days – performance declined from 90.2 per cent to 78.0 per cent • the proportion of procurement spent on local small/medium enterprises – performance declined from 28.5 per cent to 23.1 per cent • the proportion of internal floor area of operational buildings in satisfactory condition – performance declined from 91.6 to 62.1 per cent.

In 2017/18, the council performed above the Scottish average by ten per cent or more for eight indicators (18 per cent) but was over ten per cent below average for 20 indicators (46 per cent), including: • the proportion of unemployed people assisted into work by council-funded or operated employability programmes – 4.2 per cent (Scotland average 14.4 per cent) • investment in economic development and tourism per 1,000 population –£43,132 (Scotland average £91,779).

According to Audit Scotland's findings: "Recent national data shows that satisfaction has declined across Scotland for all council services and this is also the case in the Scottish Borders . Satisfaction with the council’s services declined from 2012–2018 on eight of the nine indicators and declined for four services at a faster rate than the national average. In 2018, the council was rated among the eight weakest councils on five indicators, including four indicators for which it was among the three weakest councils. This includes satisfaction with parks and open spaces, leisure facilities, libraries and museums and galleries. The council needs to better understand the reasons behind its relatively poor performance.

"Benchmarking practice is inconsistent across the council The Accounts Commission requires councils to report their performance using the national LGBF data. Although the council does this, it is unclear how it utilises the data to pursue service performance improvements systematically. Benchmarking is applied in some service areas including education and complaints handling, but the council should embed proactive, systematic use of this approach to drive performance improvements across all services. 

"There is room to improve performance reporting. Officers submit quarterly performance reports to the Executive Committee and an annual report in June each year. Members’ scrutiny of the information reported to them is generally good. The Executive Committee has no opposition members, but opposition members can publicly scrutinise and challenge performance information in a meeting of all members in full council meetings.. In addition, officers invite all members to attend a private annual briefing on the council’s performance. However, in January 2019, fewer than half of members (15 of 34) attended a briefing arranged by officers and no meeting record was kept."

Performance reports to the Executive Committee highlighted activities that affect performance in each corporate theme. However, they lack a clear, succinct overview of the council’s position and the number of indicators; and the amounts of performance information provided vary significantly across the four corporate themes. 

"There is insufficient explanation of areas identified for improvement.The council’s graphical public performance reporting (PPR) summary for 2018/19 makes it difficult for members and the public to gain a clear overview of the council’s changing performance.

"It would be helpful to distinguish actual performance on an indicator from the performance trend to clarify, for example, situations where: • performance was at a very high level and a small decrease is acceptable • performance was adequate, and remains relatively unchanged over time • performance was poor and any deterioration is not acceptable. There is scope for performance reporting to more clearly and consistently include concise information on reasons for under-performance and actions to address these, helping drive planned continuous improvement. Although the council compares itself against its family groups for relevant LGBF indicators, this material is not part of the PPR summary and is not published on the council’s website in a timely way."

NEXT: IS THE COUNCIL USING ITS RESOURCES WELL?

Does SBC have clear strategic direction?

EWAN LAMB continues our coverage of Audit Scotland's Best Value investigation at Scottish Borders Council

Many of the members elected to Tory-led Scottish Borders Council for the first time in 2017 have told a team from Audit Scotland they are still "getting to grips" with their roles and responsibilities more than two years later.

Not Just Sheep & Rugby has already reported on the recommendations and key messages contained within Audit Scotland's first Best Value Assessment of the Borders local authority since 2010. It seems a number of issues identified nine years ago remain on the council's agenda in 2019.

Part one of the new report is entitled 'Does Scottish Borders Council have clear strategic direction?'

According to the report: "In 2017 the council saw many new elected members. The council has 34 elected members across 11 multi-member wards. Like many Scottish councils, Scottish Borders Council lost a significant number of experienced members following the 2017 local government elections.

"Eighteen members were newly-elected, ten of whom were in the new administration. The administration is a coalition between the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party and an independent alliance, currently comprising four of the nine independent members . With such a significant change in administration, the Corporate Management Team (CMT) has had an important role in supporting both administration and opposition members."

Audit Scotland claims it can take time for new members to fully understand and take ownership of policy direction. Over two years into their five-year term of office, many members told us they were still ‘getting to grips’ with their roles and responsibilities.

Then the report explains: "The council’s vision for 2017–2022 prioritises six strategic themes, reflecting long-standing challenges. In 2017 the new political administration published ‘Connected Borders 2017– 2022: the vision of Scottish Borders Council’s Administration’.

"It drew on evidence such as demographic and employment information, although it did not explain how the views of communities had been incorporated. The six themes relate to: connected communities; communities of enterprise, beauty, well-being, caring; and communities that are empowered. Four principles underpin the commitments made to realise the vision: consensus, equality, innovation and community. This document was formally adopted as the council’s vision in September 2017."

The investigation team concluded that 'Scrutiny works well'.

"In committee and full council meetings, we observed the effective scrutiny and challenge of officers’ reports. Some members told us that their council work would benefit from more concise committee reports being provided sooner than the current one week in advance of a meeting, to allow more time for consideration. They recognised this is not always feasible. Working relationships between members and officers are respectful and constructive. Members have good access to the CMT and other officers for queries, guidance and information.

"The induction of members elected in 2017 was well-organised by officers and was appreciated by members. Members who were elected to the council for the first time faced a steep learning curve. Some induction events were available to all members while participation was mandatory for members of certain committees, such as on licencing and planning matters.

"Subsequently, support for all members has primarily involved officers offering members a series of briefings. Many members told us that they found the briefings topical. However, they could be made more accessible to members by being made available online. 

"At the time of the audit, the council had not developed individualised training plans for members – something it should have made more progress on. In 2016 our report How councils work: Roles and responsibilities in councils – Are you still getting it right? explained the importance of continuing professional development (CPD) in equipping members with the skills and tools they need. The council intended to start a members’ development programme in September 2019. Discussions were also underway with the Improvement Service to use its members’ CPD framework and to include personal development plans for members."

NEXT: HOW WELL IS THE COUNCIL PERFORMING?

Council staff 'lack awareness' of flagship programme

EXCLUSIVE by EWAN LAMB

An investigation by spending watchdog Audit Scotland has uncovered the positive and negative aspects of Scottish Borders Council's operations - the first 'Best Value' assessment of the local authority since 2010.

The report on the auditors' inquiry into every aspect of SBC's performance was considered in private last week by members of the national Accounts Commission. But a copy of the complete document was included among the papers for that meeting.

We will take a detailed look at the report in the coming days.But here is a list of the recommendations made by Audit Scotland after it scrutinised the way the council delivers its services.

"The council should: Embed a culture of continuous improvement by implementing a corporate approach to self-evaluation and benchmarking.

"Seek to improve partnership working with NHS Borders in order to support the strategic objectives of the Scottish Borders Health and Social Care Integration Joint Board. 

"Improve how the Scottish Borders community planning partnership involves communities and the third sector, through greater involvement in local decision-making and by accelerating implementation of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. 

"Establish a structured programme of ongoing staff consultation and engagement."

"Update its people plan for 2017-2021 and ensure longer-term workforce plans are reflected in service and financial plans. 

"Support members’ continuing professional development by tailoring training to meet their individual needs, and use technology to make training more accessible. 

"Ensure performance reports to members and the public are more comprehensive and balanced, and that they cover service performance and delivery of the Fit for 2024 programme."

The comprehensive report also sets out a list of 'key messages' emanating from the investigation's findings.

 According to the report: "Performance is good or improving in the key service areas of education and social work. The council is below average on many other national indicators and reports that its performance is improving on around half of its own performance indicators.

"Residents are more satisfied with their council's services than national data suggest. Performance reporting to members and the public should be more comprehensive and clearer about why performance has deteriorated and what action is being taken.

"Workforce management has developed slowly and planning the future workforce remains a key issue. The council has begun a programme to improve communication with staff but must do more to understand and act on their views.

"The council is a key partner in complex and ambitious economic initiatives. Significant leadership and resources will be required to achieve their objectives. Partnership working with NHS Borders, through the integrated joint board, could be improved. The council has made good progress with other aspects of joint working and recognises there are further opportunities for this. Where it provides services through arm’s-length external organisations, the council recognises that the risk of potential conflicts of interest needs to be carefully managed.

"Implementation of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 has been slow in some respects. The council and the Scottish Borders community planning partnership need to finalise and implement its locality plans. It also needs to implement a performance management framework that can measure progress against the community plan and locality plans."

Audit Scotland's report looks in some detail at 'Fit for 2024", SBC's flagship five-year rolling programme of corporate transformation aimed at improving how the council is managed and achieving a further £30 million of budget savings. 

The Fit for 2024 documentation which launched the initiative back in February of this year says: ‘It is a fair assessment to suggest that the outlook for the council remains extremely challenging…It should be recognised that Fit for 2024 raises fundamental questions about the future shape of Scottish Borders Council.’

Audit Scotland points out that both the council’s executive directors spend the majority of their time on secondment in lead roles within other organisations.

"The Executive Director for Commercial Activity is also the managing director of SB Cares four days a week. This arm’s-length external organisation (ALEO) was established by the council to provide adult social care services."

It seems the report was printed before councillors voted to scrap SB Cares and take the services back in-house.

The report continues:"The Executive Director for Strategic Partnerships is seconded to the Scottish Government for three days a week to help establish the South of Scotland Enterprise Agency. The CMT (Council Management Team) also has roles in three ongoing major economic development initiatives: the Edinburgh and South-East Scotland City Region Deal, the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal and the South of Scotland Enterprise Agency.

"While this is a positive and innovative approach aimed at realising the council’s wider ambitions, it must continue to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to deliver local services and its Fit for 2024 programme commitments in a sustainable way.

"The council needs its staff to buy in to implementing Fit for 2024. The success of Fit for 2024 will depend on the active participation of staff from across the council. They need to feel informed, involved, valued and motivated. 

"We found evidence of staff lacking awareness of their role in the programme and how it affects them. Staff who are not office-based, such as those in roads maintenance depots and waste services, are at greater risk of feeling disconnected and disengaged. The CMT recognises that it needs to increase its visibility and engagement with staff at this critical time to drive progress. In particular it is aware of the need for more and better-quality engagement with staff about their role in Fit for 2024."

So, farewell then, CAP millions?

DOUGLAS SHEPHERD on the impact EU payments have had on the Scottish Borders economy.

Farm businesses and organisations as diverse as a mountain rescue team and a stunt equestrian outfit  have been supported by European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) payments which have been worth more than £120 million to the Borders economy over the past two years.

The 2019 round of CAP cheques will represent the last batch of EU payments if, as promised by Prime Minister Johnson, the United Kingdom ends its rocky relationship with the European institutions - "deal or no deal" - at the end of October.

Several hundred family farms together with a number of charitable organisations will be among Borders-based CAP recipients who will be hoping and praying Mr Johnson's Government plugs the multi-million pound income gap once the Brexiteers finally get their way,

The statistics do not lie. In 2017 1,176 addresses with a TD or EH45 postcode received a total of £61.1 million. The figures for 2018 were remarkably similar - 1,164 CAP recipients getting £61.5 million between them.

Sums of money disbursed from the Brussels coffers range from a few hundred pounds to unnamed micro businesses right up to the £597,346 (2017) and £550,518 (2018) which went to Floors Farming, near Kelso.

Scottish Borders Council has also been a beneficiary, principally for Leader local development projects - £112,800 in 2018 and £72,310 in the previous year.

The Southern Uplands Partnership was able to obtain £28,000 to help with its work while the Tweed Valley Mountain Rescue Team's dedicated volunteers secured £15,900.

Development of forestry planting by the Borders Forest Trust was assisted by the CAP - £55,000 in 2017 and £121,320 last year. Meanwhile Les Amis D'onno, a stunt riding team based at Lanton, near Jedburgh had £9,244 in 2018 under the Leader category.

It will be interesting to see whether lost payments like those outlined above will be made good (as promised) by Westminster in the wake of Brexit.

If the level of funding is not matched in future then a good number of Borders business and organisations will suffer financially, some losing six-figure amounts they are currently handed via the CAP.

These are the numbers for each postcode area of the Borders in 2017 and 2018:

TD1 (Galashiels) - 2018 £3.708 million to 57 recipients; 2017 £3.877 million (53).

TD2 (Lauder) - £2.248 million (45); £2.445 million (54).

TD3 (Gordon) - £2.063 million (19); £2.171 million (21).

TD4 (Earlston) - £1.81 million (26); £1.37 million (23).

TD5 (Kelso) - £9.921 million (162); £9.328 million (162).

TD6 (Melrose) - £2.723 million (59); £2.626 million (62).

TD7 (Selkirk) - £3.938 million (76); £4.103 million (82).

TD8 (Jedburgh) - £4.413 million (85); £4.391 million (85).

TD9 (Hawick) - £7.228 million (168); £7.574 million (168).

TD10 (Duns) - £2.112 million (44); £1.798 million (37).

TD11 (Duns) - £8.525 million (137); £8.585 million (133).

TD12 (Coldstream) - £0.786 million (16); £0.851 million (18).

TD13 (Cockburnspath) - £0.937 million (16); £0.723 million (17).

TD14 (Eyemouth) - £1.972 million (54); £1.903 million (53).

TD15 (Berwick) - £7.571 million (151); £7.758 million (159).

EH45 (Peebles) - £2.544 million (49); £2.766 million (49).

A howling success despite Storm Hector!

by DOUG COLLIE

The 2018 Borders Book Festival upped its ticket sales and contributed an estimated £2.32 million to the local economy despite being battered by 'Storm Hector', according to the annual accounts for last year, now available on the Companies House website.

A successful three-day festival also resulted in an above 25% increase in fees paid to the event's artistic directors Alistair Moffat and Paula Ogilvie whose 2017 payments of £25,000 from the company's board increased to more than £31,000 each last year.

According to the 2018 accounts: "During the year the Board approved payments to two directors (Alistair Moffat and Paula Ogilvie) of £31,650 and £31,900 respectively (2017 - £25,000 each) as part compensation for their contribution of skill and experience in the field of literary festivals.

"These approved amounts were in respect of fees to self-employed individuals, not wages or salaries. Paula Ogilvie was paid £1,287 contribution towards home office expenses (telephone, stationery, etc).

"Neither Mr Moffat nor Mrs Ogilvie receive any remuneration for their directorships of the company.  In some years, for cost-saving reasons, the consultancy fees actually paid to them need to be reduced to below the board-approved levels".

A total of 42 temporary staff employed during the 2018 event received a total of £15,250.

The annual report signed by trustee Michael Moore says the 2018 festival was the fifteenth and had ticket sales of £212,116, and attracted almost 30,000 visitors from across Scotland and the rest of the UK. The economic impact on the Borders region was an estimated £2.32 million.

There were 100 performances by more than 120 artists. The report continues: "Storm Hector provided a challenge on the opening day and it was touch and go if our opening performances would go ahead."

The Hairy Bikers, an opening act at the festival, described it as "like Glastonbury with library tickets". Performers included William Hague and Nina Conti, says the report.

"We promoted the creativity of local writers and artists, providing mentoring opportunities for creative young people and a platform for them to participate and perform throughout the festival".

Storm Hector did claim one 'important casualty', namely the schools Gala Day which had to be postponed and was held instead in Galashiels during September 2018. Almost 800 children and their teachers from schools across the Borders took part.

"One of our jewels in the crown of the festival is our association with the Walter Scott prize for historical fiction which remains one of the country's leading literary prizes. In 2018 with the continued very generous support of the Duke and Duchess of Buccleuch, the entries maintained the range and quality of previous years".

The accounts also include the following passage: "As we rightly acknowledge each year, since it started, the festival has been supported enthusiastically and consistently by Scottish Borders Council, both financially and through the encouragement and assistance of councillors and officers; we could not have developed the festival to its current standing without this partnership. Likewise we are grateful to Creative Scotland and our other public sector partners for their continued contribution to our success".

Financial information shows the 2018 festival had net income of £4,752 compared with a surplus of £5,574 in 2017.

Festival tickets and book sales reached a total of £212,116 against £160,005 the previous year. The company received total income of £381,709 (£336,941). Overall costs totalled £376,957 (£331,427).

Troubled SB Cares hit with collective staff grievance

by EWAN LAMB

The recent decision by Scottish Borders Council to axe its controversial social care company has been followed by strong demands from the trade union representing hundreds of front line staff who deliver home care to frail and vulnerable members of the community.

Arms length limited liability partnership (LLP) SB Cares will be dissolved in a matter of weeks with services being taken back in house following the company's failures on a number of fronts.

SB Cares was only formed in 2015 after councillors accepted there was no long term future for in-house social care delivery.

Now the shortcomings of the arms length services have been laid bare by UNISON, the union having lodged a Collective Grievance on behalf of its members.

A notice on the Unison website says: "UNISON Scottish Borders Public Services branch is currently awaiting a formal response from SB Cares after submitting a collective grievance on behalf of homecare workers concerned about their working conditions.

"Following recent members meetings with homecare staff in Kelso and Peebles, and results from a membership survey produced by UNISON, it has become more than apparent that there are a variety of workplace issues that need to be addressed and rectified by SB Cares.

"Issues include; staff travel time not being adequately factored in to rotas, staff being asked to deliver complex care without proper training and 15 minute visits for clients."

Kaymarie Hughes of UNISON Scottish Borders Public Services branch said: “UNISON Scottish Borders Branch feel that this is an appropriate time to raise this collective grievance, as we want to ensure that the issues are addressed and rectified, given the move to return SB Cares back into Scottish Borders Council control.

“Staff are constantly pushed to breaking point and often not able to take breaks, some of our members report being forced to deliver complex palliative care to clients.UNISON members are not willing to tolerate these working conditions anymore, because the clients and the staff deserve better."

A copy of the grievance has also been published. This is the text in full:

This is a collective grievance on behalf of our home care members.

• Home care workers have been subject to detriment due to ongoing issues with travel time. Travel times are currently not being adequately factored in to rotas, meaning that staff are constantly pushed to breaking point and often not able to take their allocated rest break.

• There is an inconsistency on how overtime / additional hours is paid to homecare staff.

• Homecare staff who have not been adequately trained are asked to deliver complex palliative care to clients. • Staff are being scheduled in for 15 minute visits, which is not good for continuity of care.

• Staff are still unable to understand their payslips which leads to them being unable to keep track of payments for overtime, travel or additional hours worked.

Resolution Sought:

• Appropriate times to be allocated to allow homecare staff sufficient time to carry out allotted tasks and travel between service users.

• Appropriate times to be allocated to allow homecare staff to take sufficient rest breaks.

• Staff paid properly and consistently for any additional hours, travel and overtime that is worked.

• Staff not asked to deliver any specialist care that they have not been trained for.

• The allocation of 15 minute visits for anything other than medication checks within a close proximity are not acceptable and must end.

SNP more conservative than Tories with expenses

EXCLUSIVE by POLITICAL STAFF

A long string of Tory "victories" over the Scottish National Party in the two Borders Holyrood seats was maintained in 2018/19 when Conservative Rachael Hamilton easily defeated the SNP's Christine Grahame in the 'expenses claimed' stakes.

Former MSP John Lamont, Mrs Hamilton's predecessor in the Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire constituency, had already notched up a series of impressive expenses wins over Ms Grahame, the member for Midlothian South, Tweeddale & Lauderdale before he relinquished his seat in the Scottish Parliament and moved to Westminster in 2017.

Now, figures which show how much each MSP collected by way of additional costs on top of their £63,579 annual salary during the last financial year have Ms Grahame trailing Mrs Hamilton by a fairly wide margin, although the gap did close slightly from the previous fiscal year.

In 2017/18 Mrs Hamilton lodged 307 individual claims totalling £31,186 for expenditure including Edinburgh accommodation, office costs and travel. Ms Grahame's 148 claims were worth a total of £19,281.

The latest statistics show Mrs Hamilton still well ahead on £33,473 for 313 claims while Ms Grahame's 158 'results' (the term used on the Parliament website) added up to £24,506.

A breakdown reveals Mrs Hamilton spent £13,200 on renting Edinburgh accommodation (Ms Grahame lives in the city) while her office costs came to £13,296, less than Ms Grahame's total spend in this sector of £19,200. So far as travel is concerned Mrs Hamilton submitted 116 separate claims worth £3,431 while her SNP counterpart claimed £1,454 for travel.

Individual claims made by Mrs Hamilton included £375 for 'rolls for business meeting' at Ednam House Hotel, Kelso and a £20 payment made to Hazel's Gardening Service to 'spray weeds in courtyard'.

Meanwhile Ms Grahame lodged two separate claims for £204 and £280 for 'interpretation services'.

In 2016/17 - the last year Mr Lamont served as a MSP - he lodged 436 claims totalling £34,209 with Ms Grahame back on £19,241 for just 176 items of expenditure.

We also examined the costs racked up by two of the South of Scotland list MSPs, Michelle Ballantyne (Conservative) and Paul Wheelhouse (SNP). This comparison also resulted in a 'win' for the Tory member by £20,092 (148 individual claims) to £17,157 (114).

The bulk of Mrs Ballantyne's financial costs were for renting Edinburgh accommodation (£14,654) while Mr Wheelhouse, who lives in Berwickshire, claimed £5,713 for hotel stays in the city.

Mr Wheelhouse's office costs are recorded as £10,369 while Mrs Ballantyne claimed £2,530 in the same category. Her travel costs amounted to £1,563 while Mr Wheelhouse claimed £315 for travel, all of the claims relating to car parking. It should be borne in mind that Mr Wheelhouse is a Scottish Government minister.

Magic Money Tree plundered again!

EXCLUSIVE by DOUG COLLIE

Scottish Borders Council borrowed another £7.5 million from the UK Public Works Loans Board (PWLB) only a week before local authority leaders warned there would be more spending cuts and council tax rises during the coming five years.

The latest multi-million pound borrowing spree by SBC on the 23rd of last month - the maturity date, according to the PWLB's latest list of loans is September 2034 - lifts SBC's indebtedness to the lending authority above the £167 million mark. Apparently the 'new' money will be used within three months with the council agreeing to pay interest of 1.67% on the loan.

Total interest payments on loans made by the cash-strapped council in 2018/19 soared to £14.366 million, up from £11.681 million in the previous financial year. Those figures were disclosed in SBC's accounts.

Earlier this week, at a council briefing, Councillor Shona Haslam (Conservative), the council leader claimed: “There is no denying it is very difficult to balance the books every year especially when we have increased demand for services, an increasing older population and services spread across such a vast rural area.

“We are currently looking at delivering savings of over £5 million every year for the next five years. That’s not going to be easy, so we need to consider where we spend money, how we do things differently and what we simply can’t deliver any more."

There was no mention of the £7.5 million loan arranged with PWLB a week earlier.

Mrs Haslam announced the introduction of a so-called online priorities tool to be used by taxpayers over the coming months in the lead up to the finalising of next year's council budget.

She said:“The online tool we are launching will help us to understand where people in the Borders would like services protected in their own area, and will also help us to have ongoing conversations in communities about how we can do things differently and/or where there are opportunities for communities to play their part.

“We remain committed to delivering high quality services for all our residents, from the youngest to the oldest, as well as making the most of the opportunities that the Borders has. It is not all about cost cutting, it also means investing carefully and delivering a range of projects that support and enhance services, our towns and villages.” She could, perhaps, have added borrowing to the list of commitments.

Councillor Robin Tatler (Conservative), executive member for finance at SBC declared: “We know everyone has different opinions around where money should be spent and we hope people can take the time to tell us where their priorities are. It’s an ongoing challenge when it comes to setting our budget, with a huge number of demands across a wide range of services.

“We remain ambitious though, and while we do have challenges we still have a five-year revenue budget of over £1.4 billion and a £386 million 10-year capital budget.

“Given the challenges, we need to do things differently so it is vital that we get residents’ views on how where they would prioritise things that matter to them in their area. This does not necessarily mean we will put more money into these areas but it certainly means that we would consider protecting them."

And local Westminster MP John Lamont (Conservative) told the Border Telegraph: "The situation is so serious that council officials are pushing for council tax to rise significantly each year for the next five years."

The Conservative-led administration at SBC under the leadership of Councillor Haslam which took office in 2017 has presided over a 25% increase in the level of debt owed to the PWLB.

From 2012 to 2016 the figure remained static at £127.6 million despite the Scottish Government imposing a council tax freeze. Then, in 2017, the total climbed to £139.6 million, followed by another upwards move to £149.6 million in 2018. The recently audited accounts for 2018/19 include a figure of £159.6 million for PWLB debt.

Between 2014 and 2019 the council's total borrowing increased by 13.7% from £175.2 million to £199.2 million, having reached £202.7 million in 2018.