Best Value Thematic Review
Perth and Kinross Council · 11 December 2023
Back to Audit and Risk Committee — 11 December 2023 and its agenda
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PERTH & KINROSS COUNCIL AUDIT & RISK COMMITTEE 11 December 2023 BEST VALUE THEMATIC REVIEW Report by the Director (Strategy, People and Resources) (Report No. 23/366) 1. PURPOSE 1.1 This report sets out the findings and two recommendations for improvement contained in the Perth and Kinross Council’s Best Value Thematic Review Report 2022/23. It also provides a response and details actions that will be progressed in respect of the recommendations. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 It is recommended that the Committee: • Notes the contents of Audit Scotland’s Best Value Thematic Review Report. • Notes that updates on progress against improvements will be reported through the Council’s Annual Performance report. 3. STRUCTURE OF THE REPORT 3.1 This report includes the following sections: • Section 4 - Background • Section 5 - Best Value Thematic Review key messages and recommendations • Section 6 - Conclusions 4. BACKGROUND 4.1 The statutory duty of Best Value was introduced in the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003. In 2020, new Best Value Statutory Guidance was published, centred around seven new themes. The Best Value themes are: o vision and leadership o governance and accountability o effective use of resources o partnership and collaborative working o working with communities o sustainable development o fairness and equality
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4.2 Between 2017 and 2021 all 32 councils had a Best Value Assurance Report. However, at the end of 2022, Audit Scotland announced that auditors will be reporting annually to the Accounts Commission on specific themes, which they hope will facilitate the exchange of ideas and performance data, as well as offering a detailed analysis of a specific aspect of the work of all councils. 4.3 Another part of the new approach is a requirement for the Controller of Audit to report on every council across the audit appointment round, covering the period October 2023 to August 2027. While previously Best Value Assurance Reports were based on a separate piece of audit work, this new approach consists of brief Controller of Audit reports accompanied by and reflecting on published annual audit reports. 4.4 This is the first Best Value Thematic Review which has been completed under the new audit process. The focus for 2022/23 has been vision and leadership for all local authorities, as directed by the Commission. 5. BEST VALUE THEMATIC REVIEW KEY MESSAGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS 5.1 In carrying out the work auditors have considered the following questions: a. How clear is the new Council vision and its priorities? b. How is performance managed and how is the Council is performing? c. How effectively have the views of citizens and communities been reflected in the priorities and decisions taken by the Council? d. How effectively do the Council priorities reflect the need to reduce inequalities and climate change? e. How good are the delivery plans and is there alignment of financial, workforce, asset and digital plans with the Council’s priorities? f. Overall, how effective has the leadership (political and officer) been in setting clear priorities and a sustainable approach to delivering them? 5.2 The report includes an update on the areas covered by recommendations in the Best Value Assurance Report published in August 2019, it outlines a number of key messages and highlights only two recommendations. 5.3 The key messages outlined within the report are detailed below: • The Council’s leadership continues to set out a clear vision and priorities in the revised Corporate Plan. Each Plan priority has a series of actions which are being monitored through performance indicators, but targets have not been set in all of these, with many of these to be determined when appropriate strategies are revised. • Performance reporting has been revised in August 2023 following the revised Corporate Plan and provides a good overview of performance. A Corporate Delivery Improvement Plan has been introduced which sets out improvements for the year ahead. • Based on Local Government Benchmarking Framework data, Perth & Kinross Council’s performance has improved since 2018/19, but its relative ranking compared to other councils has deteriorated. This includes grading of care service inspections.
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• The Council is working with its community planning partners to reduce inequalities through delivery of the Community Plan, which was developed with the revised Corporate Plan. • The previous BV identified that the Council could do more to involve communities in strategic planning. We found that it was committed to community engagement and had built on experiences during Covid-19. • The Council’s Transformation and Change Strategy 2022/23-2027/28 is extensive and ambitious. A council-wide workforce plan exists but lacks context and detail and an asset management strategy is being developed. • We note that there was no formal reporting to committee of progress against the previous BV recommendations, and that reporting to management on progress has not been completed since June 2021. There has been slow progress in implementing some of these actions, with Covid-19 and revisions to Corporate Plans affecting this. 5.4 Other highlights from the report include: • The Corporate Plan clearly sets out the Council’s priorities and is both appropriate and focussed. It is consistent with the community plan and consultation involved a range of partners and was well communicated and was featured in the Government in Scotland Overview 2023 report as a case study. • There is effective collaborative working between members and officers and there has been a recent review of management structure. • It notes that overall, the Council’s performance has improved, and that performance reporting is refocussed at a strategic level and aligned with the Corporate Plan. It highlights that online access to data is good and the Council demonstrates full compliance with the new Statutory Performance Information direction. • It notes the Council’s commitment to Community Empowerment and progress in this regard, with steady progress with asset transfers to community groups. • It also notes that removing inequality and addressing the climate emergency are clear priorities for the Council. Council targets on carbon reduction are clear and there is a climate change and sustainability committee. Equality impact assessment and Fairer Scotland assessments are completed, and an anti-poverty taskforce has devised a plan to help deal with the cost-of-living crisis. 5.5 An improvement action plan is included in the appendix of the Audit Scotland report. This sets out audit recommendations in two key areas. Council officers accept both of these recommendations and have identified how these will be implemented.
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Recommendation Improvement action Responsible officer/ target completion date The Council should revise the workforce plan. This should set out the challenges facing the council workforce; data in terms of workforce numbers, deployment, age profile; and risks and actions in individual employment groups. A detailed People and Culture Plan will be taken to the Finance and Resources Committee by June 2024. Responsible Officer: Strategic Lead – Strategic Planning, People and Performance Target date: 30 June 2024 The Council should implement a process for routinely reporting Best Value action plan progress to committee. An annual update will be provided through the Corporate Annual Performance Report which is reported to the Scrutiny and Performance Committee and the Council in September. This will also sit on our website as part of the supporting information which is accessible to the public. In addition, we will report six monthly to the Executive Leadership Team. Responsible Officer: Strategic Lead – Strategic Planning, People and Performance Target date:30 September 2024 5.6 Audit Scotland have acknowledged the delays in their reporting this year, and work was undertaken to provide additional context and evidence in several areas of the report to better reflect our position. We will continue to liaise with Audit Scotland on some of these areas for future reporting. The planned focus for audit in 2023/24 will include workforce planning. 6. CONCLUSIONS 6.1 Progress against the recommendations will be reported to Council via the annual performance report. Work to develop a revised workforce plan which supports the Leadership Review and the Transformation & Change Programme is already underway with plans to report this to Finance & Resources Committee in June 2024. Author Name Designation Contact Details Louisa Dott Corporate Performance Team Leader LJDott@pkc.gov.uk
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Approved Name Designation Date Clare Mailer Director (Strategy, People and Resources) 1 December 2023
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ANNEX 1. IMPLICATIIONS, ASSESSMENTS, CONSULTATION AND COMMUNICATION Strategic Implications Yes / None Community Plan / Single Outcome Agreement None Corporate Plan None Resource Implications Financial None Workforce None Asset Management (land, property, IST) None Assessments Equality Impact Assessment None Strategic Environmental Assessment None Sustainability (community, economic, environmental) None Legal and Governance None Risk None Consultation Internal Yes External None Communication Communications Plan None 1. Strategic Implications Community Plan/Single Outcome Agreement 1.1 There are no direct implications arising from this report. Corporate Plan 1.2 There are no direct implications arising from this report. 2. Resource Implications Financial 2.1 There are no financial implications arising from this report. Workforce 2.2 There are no direct workforce implications arising from this report. Asset Management (land, property, IT) 2.3 There are no asset management implications arising from this report.
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3. Assessments Equality Impact Assessment 3.1 Under the Equality Act 2010, the Council is required to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between equality groups. Carrying out Equality Impact Assessments for plans and policies allows the Council to demonstrate that it is meeting these duties. The Equality Impact Assessment undertaken in relation to this report can be viewed clicking here. 3.2 This section should reflect that the proposals have been considered under the Corporate Equalities Impact Assessment process (EqIA) with the following outcome: i.Assessed as not relevant for the purposes of EqIA Strategic Environmental Assessment 3.3 The Environmental Assessment (Scotland) Act 2005 places a duty on the Council to identify and assess the environmental consequences of its proposals. 3.4 This section should reflect that the proposals have been considered under the Act and no further action is required as it does not qualify as a PPS as defined by the Act and is therefore exempt. Sustainability 3.5 Under the provisions of the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 the Council has to discharge its duties in a way which contributes to the achievement of sustainable development. Under the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 the Council also has a duty relating to climate change and, in exercising its functions must act: • in the way best calculated to delivery of the Act’s emissions reduction targets; • in the way best calculated to deliver any statutory adaptation programmes; and • in a way that it considers most sustainable. 3.6 The information contained within this report has been considered under the Act. However, no action is required as the Act does not apply to the matters presented in this report. Legal and Governance 3.7 Not applicable.
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Risk 3.8 Not applicable. 4. Consultation Internal 4.1 The Executive Leadership Team were consulted during preparation of this report. External 4.2 Not applicable. 5. Communication 5.1 Not applicable. 2. BACKGROUND PAPERS 2.1 Audit Scotland’s Best Value Thematic Review