East Lothian BVAR Nov 2018 podcast transcript 

I’m here with Paul Reilly, Secretary of the Accounts Commission, to talk about a new report on East Lothian Council. 
Paul – can you tell me what it’s about?

Sure.  This is the latest of our new Best Value Assurance Reports. It’s an independent view giving a rounded assessment of how each council is performing.
We look at how effectively a council is managing its services, involving the public in decisions, delivering on its priorities and providing clear information so that people can see how well it is doing.
In our previous report on East Lothian we were critical. We highlighted various failings, including leadership, openness and financial planning.

So what’s happened since then?
In a nutshell, East Lothian has come a long way since 2007. Improvements have been made across the board in governance, leadership, scrutiny and transparency in decision making. Financial management is effective, and the council has a good track record in delivering services within budget.
It’s working well with local communities and partners and needs to maintain that focus, given the challenges it faces. East Lothian has planned well so far to meet a £12.5 million funding gap over the next three years.

And how does this affect local people?
Well, East Lothian’s population grew by nearly 20 per cent between 1997 and 2017, the fastest growing council area in Scotland, and it is set to expand further, particularly among children and the over 75s.
We think that this growth will put pressure on council services in coming years.
But the council is performing generally well compared to other councils although there are areas of underperformance such as in education. Renewed efforts have been made in recent years to address areas of concern, such as high exclusion rates and numeracy levels.

So What do you want to see happen next?
Some improvement actions are at an early stage and will require continued momentum to achieve what the council is aiming for.
Strong leadership by councillors and officers will be vital in meeting the substantial challenges the council faces. It needs to maintain the current pace of improvement, particularly in education services, effective scrutiny by councillors of policy and decision making and in better reporting of performance to councillors and the public.
East Lothian has come a long way and now has a solid foundation to continue to provide good services. But it faces testing times ahead, not least from the rising demands of an expanding population. 

Paul, thank you very much.