Positive council report card highlights need for change
A plan of action will be up for approval at a special meeting of Argyll and Bute Council, to be held remotely on Tuesday June 30.
The draft plan is the authority’s response to a broadly positive report on its operations, published last month by the Accounts Commission on behalf of Audit Scotland.
In its report, based on assessment prior to the coronavirus pandemic, the Accounts Commission notes ‘significantly improved relationships among elected members and between members and officers’ in comparison to similar assessments carried out since 2013.
The council’s approach to financial planning and budgeting draws praise, but the report states that ‘substantial work will be required to deliver more significant transformation and redesign of services’.
The commission also notes that Argyll and Bute must improve the way it manages and reports performance, adding: ‘We urge significantly increased pace and depth of improvement and in doing so making greater use of the potential for engaging, enabling and empowering the communities of Argyll and Bute.
‘We do however acknowledge the significant challenges in an area as extensive and varied, with declining and sparsity of population, as Argyll and Bute.’
Speaking after the report’s release, Councillor Aileen Morton, Leader of Argyll and Bute Council, said: ‘This is a good report. It shows that the council has continued to improve since the last inspection, dealing with challenges unique to Argyll and Bute and working to support both the present and the future of the area.
‘Most encouraging, in terms of Argyll and Bute’s long term future, is the fact that the report highlights what we already know – that creating a successful future for Argyll and Bute, by making it a great place to live and work, depends on the public and private sectors, and local communities, working together.
‘As evidenced in the report, there is already a sense of unity in the council and with our partners, in delivering success through our shared vision. This, in addition to the positive differences local communities are recognised as making to life here, mean that the “Team Argyll and Bute” approach needed to create the future we all want is not only realistic but already happening.’