Scotland’s local authorities need to ‘radically change’ how they operate if they are to improve service delivery, auditors say.
A new report from Audit Scotland urges Scottish councils to learn from their experience of collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic to help cope with reducing budgets, growing demographic and workforce pressures, and declining performance across some services.
It also called on the Scottish government and COSLA to urgently finalise the planned ‘New Deal’ settlement for local government, allowing for more long-term planning, flexibility and transparency in councils' budgeting process.
‘The New Deal for local government, agreed between the Scottish Government and COSLA, is long overdue. Putting this in place will give councils longer-term financial stability, supporting them to make decisions and make the fundamental changes that are urgently needed,’ said Tim McKay, acting chair of the Accounts Commission.
‘Councils have gone beyond the point where making savings is enough. If the change needed doesn’t happen now, some services will continue to get worse or deeper cuts will be made. This will impact communities and individuals that are already at crisis point with the effects of inequality and persistently high poverty.
‘Councils need to have open and honest conversations with their communities and staff about the future of council services.’
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