Audit Scotland Delivering for the future Responding to the workforce challenge 1509
Renfrewshire Council · 22 September 2025
Back to Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board — 22 September 2025 and its agenda
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___________________________________________________________________ To: Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board On: 22 September 2025 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Director of Finance and Resources ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Audit Scotland: Delivering for the future: Responding to the workforce challenge ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 In August 2025, Audit Scotland published: Delivering for the future: Responding to the workforce challenge on behalf of the Accounts Commission. The report evaluates the workforce situation across Scotland’s local government sector, highlighting risks, opportunities, and the urgent need for robust strategic workforce planning. This paper provides an overview of the report and its relevance to Renfrewshire Council. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 It is recommended that members of the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board note the contents of this report. _________________________________________________________ 3. Background 3.1 Several national reports have commented on the significant workforce challenges facing local authorities in Scotland, including recruitment difficulties, rising sickness absence, and the urgent need for new skills to support digital transformation and service delivery. Recognising the
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strategic significance of these pressures, the Accounts Commission commissioned Audit Scotland to undertake a thematic national review: Delivering for the future: Responding to the workforce challenge published in August 2025. 3.2 The report provides a comprehensive assessment of the local government workforce. It identifies risks and opportunities, evaluates current planning and management practices, and sets out clear expectations for how councils can address workforce challenges to maintain and improve service delivery. 3.3 The review draws on evidence from all 32 Scottish councils, presenting sector-wide analysis and highlighting good practice as well as significant areas of risk. Audit Scotland’s findings represent a call to action for council leaders and boards, emphasising the need for integrated workforce and financial planning, targeted support for skills gaps and a renewed focus on the wellbeing and engagement of Scotland’s local government workforce. 4. Key Findings of the Report 4.1 The report notes that councils are facing clear and continuing financial pressures and are having to make savings as they redesign and transform how they deliver services, including examining the need to make workforce reductions. Recruiting and maintaining a skilled local government workforce remains challenging and, at the same time, demand for council services is increasing. This is placing additional demands on the existing workforce and there are indications this is now impacting upon the wellbeing of an ageing workforce, with absence levels rising to a new high. 4.2 Auditors report that councils have responded positively to these challenges, but that further progress with workforce planning is still needed considering continuing financial and demand pressures. There remains scope for better alignment of workforce plans to corporate strategies, and opportunities to make better linkages between corporate and service arrangements. Councils could improve the availability and use of workforce data and demonstrate better, more meaningful engagement with their staff. 4.3 Auditors also reported that there are existing initiatives across the sector to address issues with recruitment and retention, succession planning and the development of staff. But they also highlighted that opportunities to share services and roles could be better explored to
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deliver potential efficiencies and improve services. All councils recognise the importance of digital solutions in shaping their future workforce requirements, but digital capacity remains an issue for many, and further engagement with staff and service users is needed as councils transform how they deliver services. 4.4 The report outlines the Commission’s view that staff remain the most important resource councils have to deliver services and meet the needs of their citizens. But the challenges of recruiting and supporting staff are increasing as the workforce ages, needs change, and structural issues with labour markets emerge. Financial pressures are also an important factor. As councils adopt new technology and ways of working, and look to generate efficiencies, the shape and size of the future workforce needs to be actively considered. 4.5 The report notes that councils need to prioritise workforce planning and development to address existing and future challenges. Addressing rising sickness absence, embracing innovation and digital technology, and increased collaborative working will all be necessary to attract and retain staff, and ensure we all continue to benefit from a skilled and motivated local government workforce. 4.6 The report also identifies that going forward, councils will need strong leadership to develop the innovative approaches required to deal with increasing workforce pressures and challenges. Prioritising wellbeing and fostering a culture of trust, empowerment and continuous learning through improved engagement with staff will be increasingly important. 5. Accounts Commission Expectations/Recommendations 5.1 In respect of expectations, the report points to the Best Value Statutory Guidance, which sets out what is expected of councils when carrying out workforce planning as part of their overall management of their workforce. The guidance focuses on seven key themes, one of which is effective use of resources. Within this there are specific requirements related to how councils carry out workforce planning as part of the overall management of their workforce. 5.2 The report outlines recommendations aimed at improving workforce planning to support service delivery, while supporting and developing existing staff Workforce planning. These recommendations were made as part of the local best value thematic work on workforce innovation carried out across all councils in 2024.
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Workforce planning 5.3 Auditors made recommendations to enhance workforce planning, improve transparency, and ensure alignment with the council’s strategic priorities, including: making linkages between workforce strategies and plans and corporate strategies more explicit. ensuring that service-level plans reflect and address corporate priorities. more clearly defining performance measure outcomes and setting clearer targets. establishing regular monitoring and reporting of progress. expanding the range of workforce planning information collected to inform planning, including overall workforce profile, data on turnover, vacancy rates, casual and temporary staff, and the learning and development needs of staff. better engaging with staff as part of the planning process and being transparent about how staff feedback is incorporated. Digital technology 5.4 Auditors made recommendations on the use of digital technology to support workforce productivity and improve service delivery, including: being clearer how plans for digital technology will shape and impact the workforce, including expected benefits and necessary support for skills development. increasing the pace of digital transformation projects and developing measures to monitor their impact on productivity and service outcomes. undertaking a corporate review of digital skills to identify gaps and areas for improvement. Hybrid working 5.5 Auditors made recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of hybrid working, ensuring benefits for both the organisation and its employees, including: formalising the policy and procedures for hybrid working. measuring and monitoring the impacts of hybrid working. This should capture the benefits for staff including wellbeing, and any savings achieved or improvements to services.
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Workforce development 5.6 Auditors made recommendations in relation to developing a skilled and capable workforce to meet future demands effectively, including: assessing the skills profile of the current workforce in line with future workforce requirements, including a digital skills assessment. reporting on the impact that current skills and capacity development programmes are having on filling skills gaps and succession planning. monitoring and reporting on the cost versus benefit of using agency staffing, including collecting data on the number of agency staff employed. Shared services and collaborative working 5.7 Auditors made recommendations in relation to collaborative working, including: continuing to explore opportunities for joint working and collaboration to build resilience and to make the best use of resources. capturing learning from successful shared roles and functions and establishing flexible roles to apply when developing future roles. Measuring the impact of plans 5.8 Auditors made recommendations on the measurement of impact of workforce planning approaches, including: clearly setting out scrutiny arrangements for workforce planning with clear roles and responsibilities for monitoring, oversight and decision-making on workforce planning at committee and officer level. prioritising the development of workforce planning reporting tools. ensuring that organisational and service-level workforce strategies are supported by appropriate performance management information including quantifiable metrics. 6. Renfrewshire Best Value Audit arrangements 6.1 As part of the ongoing Best Value Audit arrangements, a thematic review on Workforce Innovation was undertaken during 2024 by the
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Council’s external auditors, Azets. The report, which was presented to the Audit, Risk & Scrutiny Board on 23 September 2024, outlined the auditors’ findings in relation to 6 question areas, key messages and suggested areas for improvement. 6.2 As previously reported, the findings overall were positive, with comprehensive evidence provided to support each question area. Across the 6 question areas, positive outcomes were achieved, with 4 yellow gradings (scope for improvement) and 2 green gradings (effective and appropriate arrangements in place), indicating no areas of concern. 6.3 In response, an improvement action plan was produced which sets out audit recommendations in key areas, and the Council’s planned response including responsible officers and dates for implementation. These actions were added to the Council’s Corporate Improvement Plan, which was first reported to Leadership Board in February 2025. 6.4 Following this, a progress update on the Corporate Improvement Plan was reported to the Leadership Board on 17 September 2025, the actions in relation to the workforce innovation thematic recommendations have all been completed and include the following: To implement clear productivity measures in relation to efficiencies and measure the impact on productivity, a refreshed suite of indicators was included in the 2025/26 Service Improvement Plans (SIPs). Performance will be reported to the relevant Policy Board twice a year. These measures allow us to also track the impact of our workforce skills and development. However, this has been further enhanced with the inclusion of an action the SIPs for each service to deliver a refreshed approach to workforce planning and workforce innovation as part of the review of the Council’s People Strategy, supporting future Financial Sustainability. We have improved the quality of reporting to the relevant Policy Boards, in particular, regular updates are provided to the Finance, Resources and Customer Services Policy Board, these have included an overview of the workforce profile which highlights the importance of utilising a people metrics for effective evidence-based decision-making within the Council. These are supplemented with the six-monthly and annual SIP progress reports to the relevant policy boards.
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___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial – none 2. HR & Organisational Development – none, details issues and challenges experienced by local government in relation to the workforce 3. Community/Council Planning – none 4. Legal - none 5. Property/Assets – none 6. Information Technology – none 7. Equality & Human Rights - the recommendations within this report have not been assessed in relation to their impact on equalities and human rights as the report concerns a national report on local government workforce issues and is for noting only. 8. Health & Safety – none 9. Procurement – none 10. Risk – none 11. Privacy Impact – none 12. Climate Risk –not applicable 13. Children’s Rights –not applicable. 14. COSLA Policy Position –not applicable. _______________________________________________________ List of Background Papers: (a) Report to Audit, Risk and scrutiny Board 23 September 2024: Best Value thematic work – Workforce innovation. (b) Report to Leadership Board 17 September 2025: Best Value – Corporate Improvement Plan.
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___________________________________________________________________ Author: Annie Torrance, Senior Policy Officer, Chief Executive’s Annie.torrance@renfrewshire.gov.uk