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."
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