Following their annual review of future work plans, Audit Scotland, the Accounts Commission and the Auditor General have set out what areas of public spending and policy they plan to report on over the next five years.

The Auditor General for Scotland, Caroline Gardner, has reported to the Scottish Parliament on the financial sustainability of three colleges.

The following matters were reported in 2015/16 annual audits of Moray College, Lews Castle College and Edinburgh College, and are today highlighted in reports to the parliament:

Moray College

The Scottish Government is well-organised to deliver game-changing new tax and spending powers but more work is needed to build a clearer picture of what the changes will cost and how staffing challenges will be addressed in the next stage of financial devolution.

The Municipal Journal has paid tribute to Douglas Sinclair, former chair of the Accounts Commission, who sadly died recently. As well as highlighting his career, the Municipal Journal has included tributes from former First Minister Lord McConnell, as well as Ronnie Hinds. There is also a link to an interview with Douglas from 2006.

A project to build a national IT system for Police Scotland followed good practice in its early stages but ultimately collapsed due to a damaging loss of trust between those involved and fundamental disagreements about what the programme needed to deliver.

Audit Scotland has found that recommended good practice was followed in the planning and procurement of the i6 programme, which was expected to generate potential efficiency savings of around £200 million over 10 years for Police Scotland and the Scottish Police Authority (SPA).

New councillors elected in May face major challenges and need to focus on improving long-term planning, says the Accounts Commission.

In its 2017 overview published today, the local government spending watchdog outlines a long-term decline in Scottish Government real terms funding which makes up around 60 per cent of council income.

At the same time, there continue to be increasing pressures on services, particularly in social care and education which together account for over 70 per cent of council spending.