Renfrewshire Council has taken action to rebuild the trust of local people following its significant failings in providing school accommodation for Dargavel Village. But concerns remain about a lack of transparency over the potential impacts on finances and services as the council must now fund an expansion of school provision there.

It will cost an estimated £60 million to rectify the failings of the Dargavel school project. The council now needs to develop a financial plan that sets out actions to mitigate the additional costs and be clear on the wider impacts on services.

As more key services move online, all public bodies must deliver on their responsibilities to ensure everyone can access the services they need. This includes the one in six Scottish adults who lack the digital skills needed for everyday life. 

A data matching exercise detected £21.5 million worth of fraud and payment errors across the Scottish public sector.

The National Fraud Initiative (NFI) helps detect and prevent fraud and error by matching data sets across public bodies. Savings are identified, for example, by checking eligibility for council tax discounts against the electoral register. The initiative runs every two years.

Community health and social care faces rising unmet need. Managing the crisis is taking priority over prevention due to the multiple pressures facing the bodies providing these services.

Sarah Watters has been appointed Secretary to the Accounts Commission, supporting the Commission in its scrutiny of and independent reporting on local government.

Sarah has significant experience in local government, and has worked in corporate planning, performance and improvement roles at Scottish Borders Council, and finance, policy and leadership positions at COSLA, the representative body for Scotland’s councils. She is currently the Director of Membership and Resources at COSLA, and has also previously worked in the private sector and higher education.