The public sector in Scotland is improving its purchasing and estimates it has saved more than £300 million since 2006 as a result. It could now make further savings through increased collaboration and better management.

An Audit Scotland report, Improving public sector purchasing, says the foundations are in place for Scotland’s public bodies to further improve their spending on goods and services, which is worth £8 billion a year. There has been progress in recent years but it has varied across the country and been slower than planned.

Both the Accounts Commission and The Social Work Inspection Agency, (SWIA) commend the progress made by Aberdeen City Council since the publication of largely critical reports in 2008. There is still much to do, but the council now has a very promising base for further improvement.

The Commission’s latest findings are based on the Controller of Audit’s first progress report on Best Value and Community Planning at Aberdeen City, looking at progress made at this council since May 2008.

Key organisations are working well together to plan for dealing with major disruptions and events such as severe weather and the current flu pandemic. However there is still more they could do to improve their arrangements.

A new report by Audit Scotland, Improving civil contingencies planning, says that there is a long history of organisations working together in emergency situations.

The Auditor General for Scotland, Robert Black,, said:

An Audit Scotland report, Review of Cairngorm funicular railway, examines the involvement of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) with the project over a 17-year period. This covers the original project development and the decision to build the funicular, through to HIE’s decision last year to take it into public ownership. The report also provides an update on HIE’s progress in developing a new business model for the funicular.

The Accounts Commission has now published Best Value audit findings for all 32 councils and held public hearings into two councils. For the first time the public has an overall picture of how well their councils are performing. The Commission says the audits have helped councils change and improve how they are led and managed.

An Audit Scotland report, Scotland’s public finances: preparing for the future, looks at the country’s financial situation and at how the Scottish budget is scrutinised and decided.

The Auditor General, Robert Black, said.

“The first ten years of devolution was a period of significant growth for the Scottish public sector. That picture is changing fast. There are serious financial pressures ahead and the whole of the public sector must quickly find ways of making informed decisions about competing priorities.”

The organisers of the Commonwealth Games are making progress in a number of key areas but now need to put in place an overall programme plan, ensure costs are under control and continue to identify and manage other risks.

An Audit Scotland report, Progress report on planning for the delivery of the XXth Commonwealth Games 2014, says the main organisers, (Commonwealth Games Scotland, the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and Glasgow 2014 Ltd) need to continue to actively identify and manage the risks through to 2014 and beyond.

The financial performance of the National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland was good over the past year, and it met most of its national targets for patient care and service improvement. However, the service faces significant financial pressures and there are deep-seated health-related problems that it cannot deal with alone.

The Best Value Audit and Inspection: Tayside Police and Tayside Joint Police Board is the first Best Value report on a Scottish police force and police authority. It provides an overview of how these bodies are meeting their best value duties and is a joint report from the Accounts Commission and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS).

In a wide-ranging report, Protecting and improving Scotland's environment, Audit Scotland looks at progress in improving air quality, the water environment, biodiversity and waste management.