Impressive improvements at Angus Council

Angus Council serves its communities well, has made impressive improvements to services in recent years and benefits from effective leadership and a clear vision. There is strong partnership working and collaboration to help deliver services that benefit local people.

The Accounts Commission, the independent body that holds local councils to account, says the council has made significant changes since previous critical reports by the Commission in 2010 and 2016. The council’s performance has improved or been maintained across three of the four key priority areas, including:

• working with partners to reduce the proportion of households experiencing fuel poverty
• increasing the proportion of waste that is recycled - Angus is the top-ranked council in Scotland for this
• local people being more satisfied with services than the Scottish average.

Councillors show strong leadership, working well with each other, and in partnership with council staff, as they make challenging decisions. Like other local authorities across Scotland, the council faces increasing demand for services at a time of reducing income. The council has already made significant savings, but will need to work with communities to make difficult decisions for the future.

The council should now:

• focus on critical areas where improvement is needed, including housing and improving the local economy
• do more to respond to a significant increase in demand for health and social care services, together with its NHS partners
• fully implement, across all services, its approach to managing and monitoring performance.

Tim McKay, Interim Deputy Chair of the Accounts Commission, said:

It’s clear that Angus Council serves its communities well. The pace of improvement over the last six years has been impressive.

The council is delivering on many of its stated ambitions and priorities, benefitting and enhancing the lives of local people. Now the council must drive forward change to services, to ensure that they are financially sustainable. This change must be determined by working with residents and be informed by robust information about how the council is performing.