South Ayrshire is falling behind the rest of Scotland according to a blunt report on the local authority's performance over the last five years.
Audit Scotland carried out a remote best value audit of South Ayrshire Council (SAC) between January and June 2021, the results of which have been revealed in a Best Value Assurance Report.
Since 2016, South Ayrshire council’s performance has declined in comparison to other Scottish councils.
A number of areas of concern have been highlighted by the audit...
- SAC dropped from having 58 per cent of services in the top half of Scotland's best performing councils in 2015/16 to just 45 per cent in 2019/20.
- The council’s leadership, elected members and management has made limited progress in key aspects of Best Value since 2016.
- Progress has been particularly slow in community planning, financial and workforce planning, transformation and some aspects of community empowerment.
- A drop in the performance of care services and street cleanliness.
- Fallen behind comparable councils in areas such as adult social care and environmental services.
- Lack of development of leadership skills at senior management level.
- Concern about financial planning, a lack of assurance for future financial sustainability, no medium term play - particularly relating to council priorities.
- Failure to develop a system to provide a fuller picture of the challenges council faces.
- Lack of transparency having only agreed to webcast council meetings to the public at the end of September, having banned the public due to the pandemic in May 2020.
- The Health and Social Care Partnership IJB has made slow progress in addressing specific performance issues since its establishment.
However, there was an acknowledgement of the struggles the council has faced over the course of the pandemic. And there were some positives highlighted by the auditor, pointing out the council's "clear vision"...
- The council responded quickly and effectively to the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic
- The CPP leadership previously lacked strategic direction and focus, but there are now good working relationships between partners.
- The Local Outcome Improvement Plan has consistently focused on priorities where partnership working can make the most difference.
- The council and the HSCP work well with local communities, and locality plans have helped drive forward community-led initiatives
The 2021 budget was criticised as it "simply set out indicative scenarios for 2022/23 which estimate a budget gap of between £2.38 million and £14.819m".
It was acknowledged that the 10-year financial strategy "recognised that the council faces significant financial challenges over the longer term".
The current estimated funding gap for the eight-year period 2022/23 to 2029/30 is between £56m and £69m.
This is likely to be higher as a result of failing to understand impact of situations such as the ageing population on services.
The report states that the £47m the council has in reserve will be gone by 2027/28 unless more recurring savings are identified.
The report will now go before the council, before being ratifed by the Accounts Commission.
Council leader Peter Henderson said: “I’m pleased that the Best Value Assurance Report recognises the work our dedicated staff undertook during the Covid-19 pandemic and I’d like to thank them once again for their ongoing commitment.
“Communities are at the heart of everything we do, and I’m encouraged that the report notes that councillors are working in the best interests of local people.
"However, I appreciate that there are areas where we can improve, and we have already made progress regarding some areas of the report.
"We will engage with staff and stakeholders to address the recommendations of the report and keep the public informed on progress.”
You can view the report on the Accounts Commission website at https://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/about-us/accounts-commission/commission-meetings.
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