A Best Value audit report published by the Accounts Commission today (Thursday 6 July 2006) says that Renfrewshire Council’s leadership is strong and effective, understands what needs to be done to deliver best value and is making good progress with this. However there is still much to be done to improve service performance. The report provides information about how well the council is organised to deliver improving services to local people.

Alastair MacNish, Chair of the Accounts Commission, said:

The Accounts Commission has published its Best Value report on Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Western Isles Council), citing a number of areas of performance where the comhairle must improve.

Isabelle Low, deputy chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “We are concerned that the comhairle is currently unable to demonstrate a commitment to continuous improvement built into its processes. Without this the comhairle will find it increasingly difficult to deliver effectively for the people of the Western Isles.”

Particular areas of concern include:

The Accounts Commission’s report on Best Value at East Ayrshire Council says that the council’s commitment to improving performance is supported by effective leadership.

It performs well in a number of activities and is able to recognise areas for improvement and take action to address them. However there are some weaker areas of service performance and the council now needs to streamline its best value processes and ensure continuous improvement throughout its activities.

An Audit Scotland report says that 28 public sector bodies have been, or will be, either relocated or established under the Scottish Executive’s relocation policy, introduced in 1999.

The report, Relocation of Scottish Executive departments, agencies and NDPBs, states that 1,653 posts have been transferred from Edinburgh and a further 1,164 posts have been created outside the city.

Spending on transport in Scotland last year was about £1.5 billion and this is expected to rise to £2.3 billion in 2007/08. The Scottish Executive has performed well against most of its transport targets, but more should be done to provide a full picture of what is being achieved with this investment.

This is the main conclusion in a report published today by the Auditor General for Scotland, ‘Scottish Executive: An overview of the performance of transport in Scotland’.

The Accounts Commission for Scotland’s ‘Best value’ Hearing at West Dunbartonshire Council will take place at Clydebank Town Hall on Wednesday 29 November 2006. It will begin at 10am and is likely to be a full day event.

A Hearing is a formal process organised and led by the Accounts Commission for Scotland. Its primary purpose is to assist the Commission to make findings by listening to appropriate evidence, including hearing from representatives of West Dunbartonshire Council.

An Audit Scotland report today highlights the progress made by the Scottish Qualifications Authority since 2000, when problems in processing exam results led to incomplete and inaccurate results for 17,000 candidates.

The study, Performance Management in the Scottish Qualifications Authority, provides a positive assessment of the progress made by the organisation, which in 2005 received 2.5 million entries from 500,000 candidates.

The Scottish Executive must continue to improve the way it manages information technology to support care in the NHS in Scotland.

An Audit Scotland report published today says doing this involves a major cultural shift for the NHS in Scotland and will take time. In the past there has been a range of locally-developed IT systems across Scotland. To get the most out of its investment, the NHS needs a clear national strategy.

Hospital catering services are improving, with patients having more choice and the NHS getting better at responding to their preferences. But health boards need to focus more on making sure patients get the nutritional care they need.

Despite record levels of funding and an underspend on its 2005/06 budget, the NHS in Scotland continues to face long-term financial pressures.

An Audit Scotland report finds that at the end of the 2005/06 financial year the health service, including the Scottish Executive Health Department, had an overall surplus of £70.6m on its £9bn budget. This compares with a combined deficit of £32m 12 months previously. All of the underspend was on capital funding, rather than the spending the NHS carries out in its day-to-day operation.