Perth & Kinross is committed to best value and now needs to build on its good work

In its first report on Best Value at Perth & Kinross Council, published today, the Accounts Commission for Scotland says the council is carrying out good work and has the capacity and ability to build on this, so that further improvements can be made in service performance.

Chairman of the Accounts Commission John Baillie said: “Perth & Kinross Council has a best value culture and is very self aware. The council’s leadership and arrangements for managing its performance are effective and it recognises that there are areas of service delivery that need to further improve, notably its planning function and educational attainment. The council is well placed to tackle this. It works well as an organisation and with its community planning partners and is open, clear and balanced in reporting its performance to the public.”

The Accounts Commission’s findings say that the council demonstrates a strong commitment to best value. It also highlights the good relationships between councillors and officers and that community planning partners are closely involved in planning for the area.

There is good corporate working, including engagement with employees, as shown in the implementation of the single status agreement with no disruption to service delivery.

The council recognises that there are areas of service delivery it needs to improve, and, a particular challenge for the future is the need to provide affordable housing to meet the demand from its increasing population.

John Baillie continued “We look forward to receiving an improvement plan from the council, including plans for implementing workforce planning, completing employee reviews, and developing a more robust approach to ensuring its services are best value by using benchmarking and options appraisal. This will build on the good work already being done by the council.”