Radical Change Is Needed Across Scotland's Councils

17th May 2023

Scotland's councils must radically change how they operate - particularly how they collaborate with partners - if they are to improve and maintain services to their communities.

Councils worked well with their partners to address the impacts of Covid-19. They need to implement the lessons learned during the pandemic in order to now cope with reducing budgets, growing demographic and workforce pressures, and declining performance across some services.

The Scottish Government and COSLA urgently need to finalise the planned ‘New Deal' settlement for local government, allowing for more long-term planning, flexibility and transparency in councils' budgeting process. Currently, an increasing proportion of funding is ringfenced for national priorities; this constrains councils from making decisions about how to best use money to address the local needs of their citizens and communities.

Councils must now rethink how they work together, and with local partners and communities, to provide financially sustainable services whilst tackling national issues such as climate change, child poverty and inequalities. Few councils provide services jointly or share support services across different councils.

Councils also need better data in order to ensure that they can demonstrate that their services are meeting their citizen's needs.

Tim McKay, Acting Chair of the Accounts Commission said, "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.

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.

The pandemic has affected performance across all service areas.
There are signs of growing backlogs and performance getting worse in some service areas.

Performance at risk or declining
Adult social care
There are signs that the sector is in crisis, with growing backlogs, declining satisfaction and no clear picture of demand or unmet need.

Housing and homelessness
Housing performance indicators fell during the pandemic as a result of increasing financial hardship and Covid-19 restrictions limiting access to properties.

During the first year of the pandemic homelessness fell as a result of emergency extra protections but it is rising again.

Environmental services
Performance declined during the pandemic, including a drop in recycling rates and street cleanliness levels.

Culture and leisure
Services were severely affected by the pandemic and future risks are significant.

Performance mixed or recovering
Children's services
Performance during the pandemic was mixed, attainment and progress towards closing the poverty-related attainment gap stalled but has shown some recovery.

Economic development and tourism
Performance declined during the first year of the pandemic, as activity was refocused on Covid-19 financial support, but shows signs of recovery.

Performance maintained
Corporate services
Performance dipped slightly but activity significantly increased, as corporate support services had a critical role in delivering Covid-19 grants, supporting financial hardship and facilitating homeworking for councils' workforce.

The Improvement Service publishes information to help members of the public understand how well their council is performing across a range of council services. You can find more about your own council's performance -
You can find more about your own council's performance here

Some communities are facing crisis.

Levels of poverty remain high, financial hardship is increasing and mental wellbeing levels have declined.

24% of children were living in poverty during 2019-22More than two-thirds of children in poverty live in working households

Rent arrears have increased to £101.06m in 2021/228,635 children and 13,945 households in temporary accommodation

Low-income households and people already experiencing inequalities are most affected.

Our population is also getting older. Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy are falling.

Read the full report HERE