A report published today by the local authority spending watchdog looks at how councils are using the estimated 130 ALEOs (arms-length external organisations) in Scotland, which have an annual spend of more than £1.3 billion, and the impact they are making.
ALEOs can take many forms - such as companies, community organisations or charities. Most run sports and leisure centres or cultural services like museums and theatres. Others provide social care services, property management, and commercial activities.
Audit Scotland's latest good practice note focuses on integration joint boards, following the first full year of auditing these bodies. The reports considers how the quality of local authority annual accounts can be improved for the integration joint boards.
Poor planning and over-optimism contributed to financial problems at New College Lanarkshire while Edinburgh College has made progress, says the Auditor General.
New College Lanarkshire received a £1.9m advance from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) in July 2017 after suffering cash-flow problems.
The college attributed its issues to lower than expected fee income and higher than anticipated costs around national pay bargaining, pensions and national insurance.
Caroline Gardner's report says that the college's cash issues stemmed from:
Finding savings is now "increasingly critical" for councils dealing with ongoing reductions in funding, says the Accounts Commission.
Councils are balancing a real terms funding cut of 9.6 per cent over the last eight years with increasing demand, particularly from a growing older population.
And the local authority watchdog says that councils need to clearly set out the impact budget reductions are having so they can plan for the future.
The annual report looking at the challenges facing councils and how they are performing found that:
Our report on Local government in Scotland: Challenges and performance 2018 was published in April 2018. The Tableau visualisation below looks at spending and performance by individual councils, and public satisfaction with services.
Recruiting the skilled staff needed for the Scottish Government's new financial and social security powers and responsibilities will be challenging, says the Auditor General.
Around 50 per cent of spending will be raised directly in Scotland by 2020 following the Scotland Acts of 2012 and 2016.
And a number of new responsibilities – including around £3 billion of annual social security payments – are also being devolved.
In a report out today, the Accounts Commission highlights important lessons for all councils following the collapse of a wall at Oxgangs Primary School in 2016.
There were serious faults in procurement, design and construction which also then led to the large scale closure of other schools in Edinburgh.
Similar faults to those identified in the construction of Oxgangs Primary School were also found in other City of Edinburgh Council buildings, including libraries, community centres and care homes.
Today at Audit Scotland we’re proud to be celebrating International Women’s Day 2018. It’s a time to celebrate the achievements of women worldwide as well as recognising the progress on gender equality that’s still to be made.
What the day means to us
Below Auditor General for Scotland, Caroline Gardner and Diane McGiffen, Chief Operating Officer, tell us what the day means to them, and see how our colleagues are celebrating the day.
A £1 million fraud perpetrated at Dundee City Council from 2009-2016 was the result of failures in fundamental controls within the council’s financial systems, the Accounts Commission reports.
Considering a report on this significant fraud perpetrated by a Dundee City Council employee, the Commission notes that the extent of the fraud could have been limited if the council had addressed significant weaknesses in its invoicing systems.
We published our third report on early learning and childcare on 1 June 2023. This looked at the progress made by the Scottish Government and councils to increase the hours of funded early learning and childcare to 1,140 hours by August 2021.
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