Agenda Document Pack - Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum - 19/08/2025
South Lanarkshire Council · 19 August 2025
Back to Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum — 19 August 2025 and its agenda
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Council Offices, Almada Street Hamilton, ML3 0AA Monday, 11 August 2025 Dear Councillor Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum The Members listed below are requested to attend a meeting of the above Forum to be held as follows:- Date: Tuesday, 19 August 2025 Time: 14:00 Venue: Hybrid - Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Almada Street, Hamilton, ML3 0AA The business to be considered at the meeting is listed overleaf. Yours sincerely Paul Manning Chief Executive Members Joe Fagan (Chair), Gerry Convery (Depute Chair), John Anderson, Maureen Chalmers, Maureen Devlin, Richard Lockhart, Katy Loudon, Davie McLachlan, Kirsten Robb, John Ross Substitutes Andrea Cowan, Gladys Ferguson-Miller, Martin Hose, Eileen Logan, Margaret B Walker 1
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BUSINESS 1 Declaration of Interests 2 Minutes of Previous Meeting Minutes of the meeting of the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum held on 17 June 2025 submitted for approval as a correct record. (Copy attached) 3 - 8 Item(s) for Consideration 3 Council Plan Connect 2022 to 2027: Quarter 4 Progress Report 2024/2025 Report dated 14 July 2025 by the Chief Executive. (Copy attached) 9 - 50 4 Annual Performance Spotlights 2024/2025 Report dated 7 July 2025 by the Chief Executive. (Copy attached) 51 - 64 5 Accounts Commission Audit of Best Value – East Lothian Council and Renfrewshire Council Report dated 16 July 2025 by the Chief Executive. (Copy attached) 65 - 68 6 Transformational Reviews – Update Report dated 18 July 2025 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 69 - 78 7 Digital Transformation – Update Report Report dated 17 June 2025 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 79 - 88 8 Customer Engagement Transformational Review – Update Report dated 23 July 2025 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources). (Copy attached) 89 - 92 Urgent Business 9 Urgent Business Any other items of business which the Chair decides are urgent. For further information, please contact:- Clerk Name: Tracy Slater Clerk Telephone: 07385 370 089 Clerk Email: tracy.slater@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 2
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PERFORMANCE AND REVIEW SCRUTINY FORUM Minutes of meeting held via Confero and in Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Almada Street, Hamilton on 17 June 2025 Chair: Councillor Joe Fagan Councillors Present: Councillor John Anderson, Councillor Gerry Convery (Depute), Councillor Maureen Devlin, Councillor Richard Lockhart, Councillor Davie McLachlan, Councillor Kirsten Robb, Councillor John Ross Councillors' Apologies: Councillor Maureen Chalmers, Councillor Katy Loudon Attending: Chief Executive’s Service P Manning, Chief Executive; T Little, Head of Communications and Strategy; N Reid, Improvement and Community Planning Manager Community and Enterprise Resources A Brown, Head of Enterprise and Sustainable Development; S Hardman, Fleet Manager; C Park, Head of Roads, Transportation and Fleet Services Finance and Corporate Resources J Taylor, Executive Director; C Fergusson, Head of Finance (Transactions); M Husband, Head of IT Services; S Jessup, Administration Assistant; L O’Hagan, Head of Finance (Strategy); T Slater, Administration Adviser Housing and Technical Resources S Egan, Interim Executive Director 1 Declaration of Interests No interests were declared. 2 Minutes of Previous Meeting The minutes of the meeting of the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum held on 1 April 2025 were submitted for approval as a correct record. The Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) responded to a member’s question in relation to a review of the Grounds Service. The Chair advised that consideration would be given to an awareness session for all members as this developed. The Forum decided: that the minutes be approved as a correct record. 3 Accounts Commission's New Approach to the Audit of Best Value – Highland Council and Argyll and Bute Council A report dated 15 May 2025 by the Chief Executive was submitted on the key messages and recommendations from recent reports published from the Accounts Commission’s new approach to auditing Best Value. 2 3
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Towards the end of 2023, the Accounts Commission introduced a new approach to the Audit of Best Value to replace the Best Value Assurance Report (BVAR) arrangements which had run from 2018 to 2023. The approach consisted of brief Controller of Audit (CoA) reports accompanied by, and reflecting on, published annual audit reports. The CoA reports were considered by the Accounts Commission in public and reported publicly. Information was provided on the findings and key messages from the recent CoA reports on the following councils:- Highland Council Argyll and Bute Council Officers responded to members’ questions in relation to:- the level of this Council’s borrowing costs whether this Council was looking at Area Place Plans as part of the Local Development Plan process the monitoring of hybrid and flexible working The Forum decided: that the report be noted. 4 Transformational Reviews - Update A report dated 15 May 2025 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted providing an update on the Transformational Reviews that were part of the Council’s Transformational Change Programme for the year 2025/2026 and beyond. At its meeting on 26 June 2024, the Council’s Executive Committee noted the Transformational Change Programme that was required to drive continuous improvement and efficiencies, and link into the Budget Strategy over the next 3 years. Updates had been provided to previous meetings of the Forum. This report provided a further update on the following cross-cutting and Resource specific transformational reviews being undertaken:- Procurement In-house and Procured Services Organisational and Management Structures/Overtime/Depot Rationalisation Third Sector Review Factoring Long-term Estate Strategy South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture Commissioning Plan Planning and Regulatory – Online Service Delivery, Digital Delivery and Consideration of Other Models Separate update reports had also been included on the agenda for this meeting on:- Fleet Digital Transformation Customer Engagement Property Services 4
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A Terms of Reference for the review of Planning and Regulatory Services was attached as Appendix 1 to the report. The Forum decided: that the update on Transformational Reviews be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 1 April 2025 (Paragraph 6) and Minutes of the Executive Committee of 26 June 2024 (Paragraph 9)] 5 Property Services - Efficiencies and Income Generation A report dated 21 May 2025 by the Interim Executive Director (Housing and Technical Resources) was submitted on the current position in identifying areas of efficiencies and income opportunities across Assets and Estates, Consultancy Services and Building Services. The Terms of Reference for this review, which would be looking at the following areas, was attached at Appendix 1 to the report:- staffing structure running costs performance fleet assessment depot locations renewable technology The Interim Executive Director (Housing and Technical Resources) undertook to provide Councillor Robb with information in relation to:- renewable energy projects that could be brought in-house the scope of income generation through renewables The Forum decided: (1) that the content of this report, including the Terms of Reference attached at Appendix 1, be noted; and (2) to note that an update report would be presented to the Forum in August 2025. [Reference: Minutes of 1 April 2025 (Paragraph 6)] 6 Fleet Management A report dated 20 May 2025 by the Executive Director (Community and Enterprise Resources) was submitted providing information in relation to fleet management, operations and associated reviews being progressed across the Council. Fleet management was a key aspect of Council operations, underpinning the delivery of essential services. The Council’s Fleet Strategy and its associated Action Plan, which set out the following 5 strategic outcomes, was approved by the Executive Committee on 24 June 2020:- the Council had an appropriately sized fleet with the right vehicles to ensure services operated in an efficient and effective manner the Council maintained a safe, efficient and legally compliant fleet 5
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the Council had a cost effective, efficient fleet service that supported operational requirements and responded to service needs quickly and efficiently impact on the environment was reduced Progress on the Fleet Strategy and Action Plan had been impacted by Covid-19 and work had now commenced on a review of the Fleet Strategy. The review required consideration of various principles to ensure efficiency, cost-effectiveness and sustainability, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report. Information was also provided on:- vehicle numbers and age trends the vehicle replacement programme Resource and Service demands The Head of Roads, Transportation and Fleet Services responded to members’ questions in relation to:- the possible extension of the vehicle replacement programme the implications for in-house mechanics with the shift to using electric vehicles The Forum decided: (1) that the update in relation to the Council’s vehicle estate, as detailed in section 4 of the report, be noted; (2) that the progress with the vehicle replacement programme, as detailed at section 5 of the report, be noted; (3) that the resource demands for fleet, as detailed in section 6 of the report, be noted; and (4) to note that work would continue to identify any fleet implications and savings as part of other reviews. [Reference: Minutes of 1 April 2025 (Paragraph 6) and Minutes of the Executive Committee of 24 June 2020 (Paragraph 11)] 7 Digital Transformation - Update Report A report dated 29 May 2025 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted providing an update on the Digital Transformation Review. Digital transformation covered a broad spectrum of activity, and a co-ordinated programme was required to ensure that resources were suitably deployed to priority projects to deliver maximum efficiency returns. The Terms of Reference for the Review was attached as Appendix 1 to the report, with an Action Plan attached as Appendix 2. An update on the progress of key actions was provided in the report, together with the next steps to be taken. The Forum decided: (1) that the progress of the Digital Transformation Review, including the key highlights detailed in section 4 of the report, be noted; and 6
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(2) that the next steps, detailed in section 5 of the report, be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 1 April 2025 (Paragraph 6) and 19 November 2024 (Paragraph 6)] 8 Customer Engagement Transformational Review – Update A report dated 22 May 2025 by the Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) was submitted providing an update on the Customer Engagement Transformational Review. The Council provided a range of contact methods for customers to engage with services, including by telephone, online and the use of social media. The Terms of Reference for the Review, which had been submitted to the Forum at its meeting on 19 November 2024, noted that a working group would be established and information was provided on the progress of the working group so far, which included:- the completion of a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis the completion of a risk register process mapping workshops local authority engagement customer surveys systems development an assessment of the maturity of the model a review of the capabilities and limitations of customer-facing IT systems a review of website content consideration of the organisational structure used to deliver customer services across the Council The Forum decided: that the update on the Customer Engagement Transformational Review be noted. [Reference: Minutes of 1 April 2025 (Paragraph 6) and 19 November 2024 (Paragraph 6)] 9 Urgent Business There were no items of urgent business. 7
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum Date of Meeting: 19 August 2025 Report by: Chief Executive Subject: Council Plan Connect 2022 to 2027: Quarter 4 Progress Report 2024/2025 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] ♦ provide the Council Plan Connect Quarter 4 Progress Report 2024/2025, for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025 [1purpose] 2. Recommendations 2.1. The Forum is asked to approve the following recommendations:- [] (1) that the Connect Quarter 4 Progress Report 2024/2025, summarised at paragraph 4.5. and attached as Appendix 1 of this report, be noted; (2) that the key achievements, as detailed at paragraph 4.6. of this report, be noted; (3) that the additional scrutiny of measures that have changed status between Quarter 2 and Quarter 4, as summarised at paragraph 4.7. and detailed at Appendix 2 of this report, be noted; and (4) that the Strategic subset of Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) Results, as detailed at paragraph 5. and Appendix 3 of this report, be noted. [1recs] 3. Background 3.1. The Council Plan Connect covering the period 2022 to 2027 was approved by the full Council on 15 June 2022. The Plan sets out the Council’s vision, values, priorities and outcomes for the five-year period. 3.2. As part of the performance reporting arrangements introduced in 2007, it was agreed that progress reports on the Council Plan would be provided at the mid-year point (Quarter 2) and at the end of the financial year (Quarter 4). This report provides a summary of progress on Connect as at the end of Quarter 4, 31 March 2025. 4. Quarter 4 Progress 2024/2025 4.1. The Council Plan offers flexibility, both at the Resource level and from one year to the next, in the choice of actions and measures required to deliver the Council’s outcomes. Alongside this flexibility, however, comes the requirement to ensure that the golden thread from Council Plan to Resource Plan remains unbroken. 4.2. The reporting framework for the Council Plan identifies key measures within Resource Plans which are taken and combined in a Connect report to provide a balanced picture of Council performance against Connect outcomes. 3 9
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4.3. A total of 256 measures have been identified from the 2024/2025 Resource Plans. Of those, 61 (24%) have been nominated as key strategic measures for reporting progress against Connect. 4.4. Progress to date against these measures is contained in the Connect Quarter 4 Performance Report 2024/2025, attached as Appendix 1. This report has been produced from the Council’s performance management reporting system IMPROVe, and uses a traffic light format with the following definitions to give a status report on each measure: Status Definition Blue Project complete Green The timescale or target has been met as per expectations Amber There has been minor slippage against timescale or minor shortfall against target Red There has been major slippage against timescale or major shortfall against target Report later The information is not yet available to allow us to say whether the target has been reached or not. This will be reported when available Contextual Included for ‘information only’, to set performance information in context 4.5. To ensure adequate scrutiny of performance across all Resources, individual Resource Committees receive details of all ‘red’ status measures relating to that Resource including management actions, where applicable. In addition, the Council’s Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum may consider those measures across all Resources reporting a ‘red’ and/or ‘amber’ status. The overall summary of Connect progress to date is as follows: Status Measures Statistical Project Total % Blue N/A 6 6 10% Green 26 17 43 70% Amber 4 2 6 10% Red 4 0 4 6% Report later/Contextual 1 1 2 4% Totals 35 26 61 100% Data as at 12 June 2025 v2 4.6. Progress for 2024/2025 against each of the six Connect Outcomes and the related achievements have been summarised in the following tables: 10
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4.6.1. Connect Outcome Communities and Environment Number of measures Blue Green Amber Red Report later Total 1 11 3 2 0 17 Achievements In 2024/2025, South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership received a total of 685 stories from service users, patients, their families and carers via Care Opinion. Care Opinion is enhancing our understanding of people’s experiences with health and care and has been crucial in helping us build on our strengths while also identifying areas for improvement, allowing us to make targeted refinements wherever appropriate. The Community Wish List has continued to thrive, with 36 Community Wishes received from a range of community groups across South Lanarkshire. 23 Wishes have been answered, with a range of financial donations, goods and materials, reallocation of furniture items from South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture (SLLC) property (totalling £27,918). To date this financial year, the project has totalled over £83,000 The percentage of household waste sent to landfill in the period January to December 2024 was 1.32%, well within the target of below 5%. The percentage of properties with Full Fibre Connection has increased to 58.8% in 2024/2025, exceeding the annual target to reach 43% coverage. A programme of bridge and other structure projects has been implemented, including the £9.4million replacement of the Clyde Bridge. 4.6.2. Connect Outcome Education and Learning Number of measures Blue Green Amber Red Report later Total 1 2 1 0 0 4 Achievements SQA examination results for the 2024 exam diet were published by SQA on 6 August 2024. South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) pupils were presented for over 80,000 qualifications at National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher levels. When compared with National pass rates (based on entries in other Local Authorities) attainment levels in SLC are above the National Pattern. An increasing percentage of our primary schools are now offering play-based learning at each stage between Primary 1-3. There is also one establishment implementing this approach across a P1-4 class. Primary 1: Approximately 79.4% Primary 2: Approximately 53.7% Primary 3: Approximately 24.1% 29 of our schools have now achieved the highest gold level in the Scottish Book Trust Reading Schools framework. A further 22 have silver status and 35 have accredited status. This respected framework is linked to How Good is Our School 4 (HGIOS4) and aims to build an inclusive reading culture in schools. Our levels of award are comparatively very high and are reflected in the continuing improvement in our literacy attainment levels. Another successful Conference of Schools (CoS3) event took place this year. Designed and delivered by our young people for our young people, the event provided a valuable platform to educate, inspire and engage on these matters. The event was again well attended and received significant praise from Education Scotland’s Chief Executive who visited on the day. The Instrumental Music Service (IMS) featured 12 diverse performances from mainstream and ASN schools in the 12 Days of Christmas event. Throughout December the IMS supported over 100 school concerts, community events and services. 11
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4.6.3. Connect Outcome Health and Wellbeing Number of measures Blue Green Amber Red Report later Total 0 6 2 0 1 9 Achievements Of the 50 new homes completed to date in 2024/2025, all have been built to ‘Housing for Varying Needs’ standards and are easily adaptable to accommodate tenant’s changing needs over time. 8 of the 50 (16%) were accessible for wheelchairs, exceeding the target of 10% established in the Local Housing Strategy 2022 to 2027.The homes are located close to existing services, amenities and transport links allowing tenants to easily connect with the existing community within Brackenhill Farm. The Council’s affordable housing supply programme continues to increase the supply of Council homes across South Lanarkshire, with a focus on ensuring that the new homes provide for changing in peoples need over the course of time. Equal Say, the adult Advocacy commissioned service, completed its first year of operation in October 2024. Quarterly reports show increased activity in referrals of over 150 per quarter, and prominent advocacy issues associated with Mental Health Legislation, Adults with Incapacity, and Adult Support and Protection. Lanarkshire Advocacy Planning Working Group is refreshing the Lanarkshire Advocacy Plan 2020 to 2025 ensuring that Advocacy supports the voice of service users and carers and the importance of those Advocacy services to the most vulnerable groups within our communities. Lanarkshire Carers continues to develop and evolve its “CarerSpace” online portal to start or continue a conversation. It is a toolkit developed by carers for carers that helps explore various aspects of a carers life, focusing on what matters to them. Once submitted staff from Lanarkshire Carers can pick up the conversation with the carer. Take Control, the commissioned service for independent advice and information on Self Directed Support, has worked with 400 South Lanarkshire residents to exercise choice and control over their care and support arrangements. See Hear Strategic Working Group hosted an information event in Hamilton on 29 May 2024. Twenty-two organisations contributed to the event focused on sensory services for hearing and sight. The Director attended the event, thanking all the services for their continued support to South Lanarkshire Residence. Care at Home teams, including Home Assessment, have been subject to inspection by the Care Inspectorate during 2024/2025. The feedback has been positive throughout with almost all areas of inspection graded as ‘very good’ or ‘good’ and inspectors highlighting significant strengths in relation to the delivery of care; positive outcomes for people; strong leadership; and a highly trained workforce. The gradings and positive feedback are testament to the substantial programme of redesign and modernisation over the last five years in response to the serious concerns identified by the Care Inspectorate in 2019. Work on Cost of the School Day was presented at the national Facing Up to Poverty in Schools Network and highlighted as an example of good practice. The £13m Transition Fund is helping to modernise the leisure and culture assets. Phase 1 (£8.5m) spend underway. Phase 2 projects were approved at Executive Committee on 13 November 2024 and are now being progressed. Works on the six play areas identified for investment, as part of the multi-year Play Area Investment Programme, are now complete. Consultation on play areas has been undertaken with local members and communities in the Hamilton area. 12
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4.6.4. Connect Outcome Children and Young People Number of measures Blue Green Amber Red Report later Total 1 2 0 0 0 3 Achievements 100% of young people leaving care were provided with a housing options discussion which resulted in the development of an individual housing plan. 100% were supported to move onto suitable accommodation. A new partnership project, led by Social Work and Housing in cooperation with Barnardo’s and supported by the National Lottery Community Fund, has been helping young people transition from care into their own accommodation. The project was developed with the assistance of the members of the South Lanarkshire Champions Board, a group of care-experienced young people who advocate for the needs of their peers and shape services within the South Lanarkshire area. The Futures project provides wrap around support to young people leaving care and moving to independent living for the first time. This is done by providing four, furnished training flats together with intensive support to assist the young people in developing skills for setting up their home, maintaining a successful independent tenancy and building local community connections and networks before moving to fully independent living. 4.6.5. Connect Outcome Housing and Land Number of measures Blue Green Amber Red Report later Total 2 9 0 1 0 12 Achievements We continue to increase the supply of affordable housing with the delivery of 180 homes delivered during 2024/2025. This includes 50 new build and 130 properties acquired through the market purchase scheme. 91.9% of tenancies were sustained for more than a year. Average days to relet a property decreased from 22.15 days in 2023/2024 to 19.31 days in 2024/2025. 99% of reactive repairs were completed right first time. 4.6.6. Connect Outcome Our Economy Number of measures Blue Green Amber Red Report later Total 1 10 0 1 1 13 Achievements Support for businesses in South Lanarkshire has exceeded the set targets against the following measures: - the number of business support interventions per annum by Economic Development was 1,014 (target 800) - the number of jobs created or sustained as a direct result of Economic Development intervention was 1,071 (target 500) - increased value of sales generated by businesses as a direct result of Economic Development intervention was £8.532m (target £5m) A range of business programmes, services and events have been delivered, including: - Food and Drink: the Council financially and practically supported the Lanarkshire Larder. 13
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- Tourism: the Council has delivered a range of projects to support tourism in the area, such as a travel trade programme to help businesses that operate primarily in the tourism sector to become ready to work with the travel trade. - Construction: Build Lanarkshire Programme was successfully delivered by the Council in conjunction with North Lanarkshire and Hub South West. - Young Enterprise: the Council successfully delivered the inaugural Shark Reef initiative aimed at promoting entrepreneurship to S3 pupils. - Meet the Real Buyer event: Co-delivered, successfully enabling local businesses to speak to public and private sector buyers. 3,059 participants have been supported on Council-operated employability programmes; over double the 1,500 target. 4.6.7 In addition to working towards the six Connect Outcomes, the Council will continually aim to improve and ensure effective and efficient use of resources, and that business will be conducted with integrity and transparency and will operate to the highest standards. In order to monitor and report progress against these values, Resource outcomes have also been identified, under the heading Delivering the Plan and achieving Best Value. Related achievements to date are summarised in the following table: Delivering the Plan and Achieving Best Value Number of measures Blue Green Amber Red Report later Total 0 3 0 0 0 3 Achievements Against an extremely challenging set of socio-economic circumstances, positive performance, against previous year, was achieved in relation to:- • the percentage of rent collected which increased from 99.5% Quarter 4 (2023-24) to 100.2% in Quarter 4 (2024/2025). • the percentage of gross rent arrears reduced over the same period from 8% Quarter 4 (2023-24) to 7.1% in Quarter 4 (2024/2025) As part of the Glasgow City Region Smart and Connected Social Places (SCSP) 5G Innovation Fund, South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership has engaged with Care Messenger Holdings Ltd to deliver an innovative project that provides commercial LG Smart TV products to residents living within David Walker Gardens care home for older people. Residents who wish to participate in the project can communicate directly via text message or video call with care home staff, their families, befrienders or other professionals, via their TV. Initially 20 TVs were installed within residents' rooms, and this has since been offered to all 50 residents across the whole care home. Early evaluation indicates a positive impact on social isolation and loneliness. The audited Accounts for 2023/2024 were produced and received a clean audit certificate. These were approved for signature by the Risk and Audit Scrutiny Committee before the submission date of 30 September 2024. With assistance from the Improvement Service, the council developed an SLC- focused Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) dashboard reflecting the council's strategic priorities as set out in the Council Plan, Connect. Following presentation at the PRSF on 28 May 2024, the dashboard was made available to the public via a link on the performance pages of the council's website. Year two of the three-year Frontline First Fund (totalling £3.5million) is fully implemented. Major improvements include refurbishment of Carluke marketplace, Blantyre miner’s monument, ongoing repair of Lanark Loch walkways, shrub bed removal Westwoodhill, East Kilbride. 14
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4.7. Scrutiny of Change in Measure Status A further analysis introduced to aid scrutiny of performance, is to highlight and explain all measures that have changed status from Quarter 2 to Quarter 4. On analysis of these, five measures improved and five measures showed a decline in performance - details of which are included at Appendix 2. The remaining measures under scrutiny showed a change from Green or Report later to Blue (complete)/Green and need no further action. 5. Strategic Subset of Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) Results 5.1. As agreed at the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum on 21 March 2023, this report includes Appendix 3 which focuses on a subset of LGBF indicators aligned to the outcomes in the Council Plan. This provides an opportunity to review benchmarking indicators which are of strategic importance to the council and gives insight into the council’s performance over time as well as comparison with the national average. It should be noted that, while appendices 1 and 2 provide performance information relating to 2024/2025, due to the lag in LGBF data being provided, Appendix 3 relates to the period up to 2023/2024. 5.2. As well as featuring in this report, LGBF indicators continue to be reported annually in full to the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum and included in the Council’s public performance reporting arrangements, published on the Council’s website. 6. Employee Implications 6.1. The outcomes noted within the Council Plan will inform the Resource Plans and in turn the Performance Appraisal process for individual employees. 7. Financial Implications 7.1. Provision for meeting the Council Plan’s outcomes is reflected in both the Revenue and Capital budgets, and longer term, within the framework of the Council’s approved Financial Strategy. 8. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 8.1. There are no climate change, sustainability or environmental implications arising from this report. 8.2. The Council acknowledges the serious and immediate threat of climate change and is committed to accelerating the pace of action in response to the climate emergency and in Scotland’s transition to a net-zero and climate resilient society and economy. All Resource Plans have recognised sustainable development and climate change as a key area of focus for 2024/2025. 9. Other Implications 9.1 A significant element of the delivery of the outcomes in the Community Plan 2022 to 2032 will come through the achievement of the actions contained within Connect. 10. Integrated Impact Assessment and Consultation Requirements 10.1 This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy and therefore no impact assessment is required. 10.2 There is also no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in this report. 15
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Paul Manning Chief Executive 14 July 2025 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes ♦ The Council Plan 2022 to 2027 reflects the overarching vision of South Lanarkshire Council and details its values, priorities and outcomes, including links to the Community Planning Partnership. Previous References ♦ Connect Quarter 2 Progress Report 2024/2025 – Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum of 19 November 2024 List of Background Papers ♦ Council Plan Connect 2022-2027: approved by South Lanarkshire Council on 15 June 2022 Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Tom Little, Head of Communications and Strategy Extension: 4904 (Phone: 01698 454904) E-mail: tom.little@southlanarkshire.gov.uk Performance: www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/performance 16
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on 12 Jun 09:55 South Lanarkshire Council Connect Performance Report 2024-25 Quarter 4 : April 2024 - March 2025 (This represents the cumulative position to March 2025) Appendix 1 17
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IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on 12 Jun 09:55 Summary - number of measures green, amber and red under each Council Plan Outcome / Theme Council Outcome / Theme Green Amber Red Report later / Contextual Total Communities and Environment 6 1 2 9 Education and Learning 1 1 2 Health and Wellbeing 6 2 8 Children and Young People 1 1 Housing and Land 3 1 4 Our Economy 6 1 1 8 Delivering the plan and achieving best value 3 3 Total 26 4 4 1 35 18
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Council Plan Performance Indicators IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Number of road casualties in South Lanarkshire during 2024. Provisional casualty figures are available for the full duration of 2024, when there were 382 casualties. Of these, there were nine fatal casualties, 134 serious casualties and 239 slight casualties. There were no child fatal casualties, eight children seriously injured and 37 children slightly injured. These figures can be compared to the calendar year 2023, when there were 370 casualties. Of these, there were seven fatalities, 124 serious casualties and 239 slight casualties. For children in 2023, there was no child fatal casualties, 22 children seriously injured and 21 children slightly injured. Amber 370 382 254 284 370 Percentage of household waste sent to landfill in 2024 This measure is reported per calendar year and the latest figures (1.32%) relate to the period from January to December 2024. Performance for the year is well within target. Green 5.00% 1.32% 8.66% 1.84% 1.50% Evidence the use of recycled stock as a percentage of all Equipu activity. To date, 1,117 (22%) items from a total of 5,009 have been recycled, with 364 of those items recycled in quarter 4. Performance exceeds the annual target of 10% of recycled stock. In quarter 4, 364 (19%) items were recycled from a total of 1,953 items. People are encouraged to return all previously issued equipment to ensure recycled items are available to select as first choice and the measure exceeds target. Green 10% 22% ------ ------ ------ Percentage of properties with Superfast Broadband >30Mbps Coverage of superfast broadband has increased by 0.91% over the year to 98.8%. Increases are marginal and based on small numbers of rural properties and continued roll out of R100 programme funded by the Scottish Government. Green 99.0% 98.8% 97.0% 97.3% 97.9% Communities and Environment 19
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Council Plan Performance Indicators IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Land Audit Management System grounds maintenance score The Land Audit Management System (LAMS) final overall score at quarter four was 72, equalling the annual target. Green 72.0 72.0 71.3 72.0 72.0 Percentage of our road network that should be considered for maintenance treatment (Roads Condition Index). This figure is derived from the Scottish Collaboration of Transportation Specialists (SCOTS) Road Condition Index (RCI) survey which is undertaken each year. The target of 31.9% for 2023/25 is based on the results for the period 2022/24. The actual figure for 2023/25 of 32.5% indicates a regression of 0.6% of the amount of our road network in an amber or red status. Deterioration is also showing across individual road categories to a similar extent. It is hoped that following the budget announcement in February 2025 to increase capital funding we will be able to stabilise the condition of the network in the coming years. Red 31.9% 32.5% 29.7% 30.8% 31.9% Communities and Environment 20
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Council Plan Performance Indicators IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Broad compliance with food law statutory requirements secured in premises During 2024/25, 95% (2,739) of food businesses that have been inspected were found to be broadly compliant with both food hygiene and food standards legislation. This compliance figure continues to exceed the annual target set for this measure. Since the new food law rating scheme came into affect, local authorities can focus resources on high risk and non-compliant businesses by conducting more frequent inspections in these establishments. Green 85.0% 95.0% 93.0% 96.0% 95.0% Communities and Environment 21
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Council Plan Performance Indicators IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Reduction in the Council carbon emissions in 2023/24 compared to 2022/23 (previous year) The carbon emissions are reported a year behind, so we are currently reporting on 2023/24 figures and note that the Council’s carbon emissions reduced by 9.46% in comparison with 2022/23. The 2023/24 decrease in emissions is due to a reduction in gas consumption for the Council Estate and a reduction in the Council's Fleet size in 2023/24 compared with 2022/23. The figures for 2024/25 are not currently available however they will be included in the year end carbon management report to the Climate Change and Sustainability (CCS) Committee in November 2025. The target is to continue to reduce the Council's carbon emissions. Green ------ ------ ------ ------ 9.46% Communities and Environment 22
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Council Plan Performance Indicators IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Percentage of total household waste that is recycled in 2024 This measure is reported per calendar year and reflects the performance from January to December 2024. The annual household waste recycling figure is below target. The inability to now recycle Waste Upholstered Domestic Seating (WUDS) means that this type of waste must be incinerated. This is having an impact on the amount of bulky waste that is recycled. The full extent of the impact is not yet known, but information will be provided when available. To help move closer to the 50% target, Waste Services are doing the following: • Extending recycling services at flatted properties to include those that have typically had low participation rates. Supported by the £0.28 million of Scottish Government Recycling Improvement Fund investment over two years, the Council has procured new bespoke communal recycling bins. The bin roll out is now complete, however, the full impact on recycling rates and resident behaviour will not be available until the end of 2025. Progress will be monitored going forward. • The Waste Education Team continue to work with residents across South Lanarkshire to improve recycling knowledge and participation. By offering guidance and engaging directly with communities they aim to support long-term improvements in sustainable waste management. • Actively monitoring changes in national legislation and guidance, as outlined in the Waste Policy Update Report presented to the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee in March 2025. The Council is committed to aligning with forthcoming Scottish Government requirements and embedding best practice to increase recycling rates. Red 50.00% 41.80% 41.50% 41.20% 43.75% Communities and Environment 23
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Council Plan Performance Indicators IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Percentage of pupils entering positive destinations (initial destinations) 3625 young people left school in 2023/24 and the positive destination rate decreased slightly by 0.5 percentage points to 96.4% from 96.9% the previous year. South Lanarkshire has maintained a positive rate higher than the national rate of National average 95.7%. Discussions are taking place during April with all schools and Skills Development Scotland to discuss those young people in negative destinations and identify any lessons learned. Amber 96.5% 96.4% 96.2% 96.2% 96.9% Percentage gap between pupils from the least and most deprived areas entering positive destinations South Lanarkshire has a gap of 3.2%, this has increased slightly from 2022/23 (2.9%) and compares to 4.3% nationally (3.7% in 2022/23) The 5.5% target has been identified as being recorded incorrectly in the system - it suggests that the target was to increase the gap. The target should have been recorded as 3.0%. Green -5.5% 3.2% 6.4% 6.1% 2.9% Health and Wellbeing ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 No of households currently waiting for adaptations to their home Target achieved. Green 0 0 0 0 0 % of new build that are wheelchair accessible (RP) In 2024/25, eight new wheelchair accessible homes were provided as part of 50 new council homes within Brackenhill Farm in Hamilton. Green 10.0% 16.0% ------ ------ 19.2% Education and Learning 24
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Council Plan Performance Indicators IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Percentage of Justice Social Work reports submitted to Court by the due date. To date, 97% (1767 out of 1822) of Justice Social Work reports have been submitted within timescale and performance continues to exceed the 95% target for this measure. In quarter 4, 99% (453 out of 459) of Justice Social Work reports have been submitted within timescale. This position has increased from 97% in quarter 3. Green 95.0% 97.0% 99.0% 98.0% 98.0% Percentage of reports submitted to the Children’s Reporter within agreed timescales. To date, 72% (214 out of 298) of reports submitted to the Children's Reporter were sent within agreed timescales. Reporting in early 2024/25 highlighted a performance issue against this measure (58% in Q1 and 52% in Q2). Action was taken by the service to increase local monitoring and establish regular meetings with the Scottish Children's Reporters Administration. Whilst the year to date position has not met the 75% annual target, improvement actions appear to be making an impact and performance has continued to improve from 85% in quarter 3, to 91% in quarter 4. Amber 75.0% 72.0% 82.0% 77.0% 53.0% Percentage of statutory supervising officer visits completed within timescale for local authority welfare guardianship orders. To date, there was a total of 243 local authority guardianship visits due with 91% (220) being completed in time, exceeding the annual target. In quarter 4, there was a total of 55 local authority welfare guardianship visits due with 93% (51) being completed in time, exceeding the target of 75%. Performance reports remain available to the locality teams providing current performance levels. Green 75% 91% 94% 93% 94% Percentage of statutory supervising officer visits completed within timescale for private welfare guardianship orders. To date, there was a total of 2214 private guardianship visits due with 87% (1932) being completed in time, exceeding the annual target. In quarter 4, there was a total of 392 private guardianship visits due with 90% (353) being completed in time, exceeding the target of 75%. Performance reports remain available to the locality teams providing current performance levels. Green 75% 87% 95% 93% 92% Health and Wellbeing 25
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Council Plan Performance Indicators IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Percentage of children and young people attending primary school Target has been successfully achieved Green 93.0% 93.8% 91.8% 92.5% 92.9% Percentage of children and young people attending secondary school Although the figure to date falls below the target set there is an improvement on the 2023/24 figure of 87.7% Amber 89.0% 88.3% 87.6% 87.2% 87.9% Children and Young People ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Percentage of care experienced children and young people accommodated in residential placements. As at 31 March 2025, there were a total of 721 Looked After Children, 652 (90%) were looked after in a community setting and 69 (10%) were looked after in a residential setting including local authority houses, secure accommodation and residential schools, this position has been maintained since 2021. This reflects South Lanarkshire’s commitment to shift the way care is delivered to Looked After Children, with continued support to children and young people within the community. Green 10.0% 10.0% 10.0% 10.0% 10.0% Housing and Land ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 % of lets to Urgent housing (UH) need households (RP) Target achieved. Green 55.0% 62.5% 53.5% 58.1% 62.9% % of new tenancies sustained for more than a year for all lets (SSHC) (RP) Tenancy sustainment has remained strong within the year and target achieved. Green 88.00% 91.90% 93.40% 92.00% 92.20% % of Housing Options interventions where Homelessness prevented (RP) As at quarter 4, 889 (60%) homeless cases prevented. The operating context in relation to the prevention of homelessness remains extremely challenging. The prevailing socio-economic conditions continues to adversely impact upon the ability to prevent homelessness during 2024/25. This trend has been mirrored nationally. Red 70.0% 60.0% 73.5% 65.9% 60.8% % of response repairs completed on time Target achieved. Green 90.0% 95.5% 99.1% 95.3% 97.0% Health and Wellbeing 26
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Council Plan Performance Indicators IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Number of participants supported via council-operated employability programmes 3,059 participants have been supported via employability programmes from April 2024 to March 2025, exceeding the 1,500 target. The 2024/25 target was set following the restructure of the Employability Service. The service was going through the process of establishing new and additional programmes and these programmes were set up to receive referrals more quickly than anticipated. This, coupled with a high level of demand, has led to significant over achievement against this target. Green 1,500 3,059 1,934 1,687 2,663 Number of participants accessing further education or training 804 participants have accessed further education or training via the Employability Team since April 2024 to March 2025, exceeding the target of 400. The 2024/25 target was set following the restructure of the Employability Service, in addition to this the service was going through the process of establishing new and additional programmes. These programmes were set up to receive referrals more quickly than anticipated. This, coupled with the establishment of effective referral routes and a high level of demand, has led to significant over achievement against this target. Green 400 804 219 536 870 Number of business support interventions per annum by Economic Development (grants, loans or advice) The majority of business support interventions were made up of registration and event attendance via the Supplier Development Programme (SDP). The number of interventions in 2024/25 was 1,014, exceeding the target of 800. Green 800 1,014 2,679 1,615 829 Our Economy 27
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Council Plan Performance Indicators IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Increased value of sales generated by businesses as a direct result of Economic Development intervention This figure is taken from business grant applications and demonstrates the significant impact our grant scheme has on supporting local businesses. Green £5.000m £8.532m £22.107m £13.113m £14.496m Number of new South Lanarkshire business starts supported by Business Gateway This year represents a transition for the Business Gateway, changing from a contract based external provider model, to an in house model which will reflect a more customer focused, rather than target driven, delivery model. The transition led to a significant disruption to the service. Through the revised customer focused service approach appropriate target levels will be established going forward. Red 500 240 ------ 520 499 Our Economy 28
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Council Plan Performance Indicators IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Number of jobs created or sustained per annum as a direct result of Economic Development intervention The number of created or sustained jobs reported here is taken primarily from business grant and expert help approvals. The target (500) has been exceeded with 1,071 jobs created or sustained per annum. Green 500 1,071 1,095 1,256 646 Percentage of procurement spend on local enterprises This is a local government benchmarking framework indicator. 2023/24 information was published in January 2025, and showed that the percentage of spend on local enterprises increased from 18.1% in 2022/23 to 19.5% in 2023/24, an increase of 1.4%. While this remains well below the Scottish average of 30.7% and places South Lanarkshire in 27th place out of the 32 local authorities in Scotland, it should be noted that this is a national figure which is skewed by rural and island local authority figures, where access to reliance on local suppliers is more common. Construction is an area of high spend in South Lanarkshire where opportunities to improve local spend has been sought. The impact of high inflation in the construction sector and the challenges across the public sector on delivering large scale construction projects has reduced some opportunity at a local level. The perceived complexity of public sector procurement and the required investment in completing tender submissions is deterring some small businesses that might lack sufficient administrative resources. There is a greater proportion of smaller enterprises in South Lanarkshire which increases the challenge in increasing and improving this measure. Supplier engagement and promotion of the free to access support, continues to encourage participation in tendering exercises. The figure for 2024/25 will be reported as part of the LGBF framework in early 2026. Report Later ------ ------ 18.2 18.1 19.5 Number of participants gaining sustainable employment 725 participants have progressed into employment since April 2024 following support by the Employability Team, this exceeds the target of 700. Green 700 725 1,146 584 643 Our Economy 29
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Council Plan Performance Indicators IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 ----------- This Year ----------- -------- Last 3 Years -------- Performance Indicators Comments/ Progress Status Target To Date 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Customer Service Centre - % of calls answered We have exceeded our 2024-25 target of 90% Green 90.00% 94.00% 93.00% 94.00% 91.00% Customer Service Centre – average queue time (in seconds) We have exceeded our target of 300 seconds for 2024-25 Green 300 187 158 134 252 Percentage of income due from Council Tax received by the end of the year - in year (incl water) The annual Council Tax collection target for 2024-25 was set at 95.5%. A Council Tax collection rate of 95.69% was achieved, ahead of target by 0.19%. Green 95.50% 95.69% 95.54% 96.77% 95.70% Delivering the plan and achieving best value 30
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Summary - number of measures complete, green, amber and red under each Council Plan Outcome / Theme Council Outcome / Theme Complete Green Amber Red Report later Total Communities and Environment 1 5 2 8 Education and Learning 1 1 2 Health and Wellbeing 1 1 Children and Young People 1 1 2 Housing and Land 2 6 8 Our Economy 1 4 5 Delivering the plan and achieving best value Total 6 17 2 0 1 26 31
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Council Plan actions and measures IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Community Safety priorities are achieved Continue to support the Safer South Lanarkshire Board and work with partners to contribute to tackling identified community safety issues Board met as scheduled during the year to provide oversight of local policing and fire rescue. Annual budget approved by board and full spend achieved by year end. Green Increase routes for Increase the number of communities with their own Nine neighbourhood plans are in place and being delivered. Plans are Green communities to community-led neighbourhood plans reviewed annually to ensure the priorities reflect local need and participate in decision aspirations. One neighbourhood plan is in the final stages of making and priority development. setting Implement new approaches to community involvement in The Community Wish List has continued to thrive, with 36 Community Green decision making such as a community Wishlist approach to Wishes received from a range of community groups across South community benefits Lanarkshire. 23 Wishes have been answered, with a range of financial donations, goods and materials and reallocation of furniture items from SLLC property, totalling £27,918. to date this financial year, the project has totalled over £83,000. Take forward IT strategic developments Complete procurement exercise to identify partner to meet SLC Digital Connectivity requirements, including improved availability and affordability of broadband and 4G/5G mobile services across the council area Revised business case developed and remains under consideration. Green Communities and Environment 32
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Council Plan actions and measures IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Lead by example and influence area-wide climate change and sustainability action Implement the Sustainable Development and Climate change Strategy (2022-2027) Action Plan, and report progress at quarter two and quarter four to Climate Change and Sustainability Committee Implementation of the Sustainable Development and Climate Change Strategy (SDCCS) and Action Plan has progressed on time and has delivered a number of positive outcomes and actions. The SDCCS Action Plan quarter four update for 2024/25 was presented to the Climate Change and Sustainability (CCS) Committee in June 2025, highlighting the progress and impact over the last year. The Action Plan for 2025/26 was approved by CCS Committee in March 2025. Green Prepare an Open Space Strategy in partnership with Glasgow and Clyde Valley Green Network Partnership and other council services Engagement on the findings following analysis of the Open Space audit will be carried out during Q2 and will in turn be used to inform the evidence report for the Local Development Plan 3. It is anticipated that a draft Open Space Strategy will be available early 2025 once the Gatecheck of the Evidence Report has been completed. Engagement started in the second half of 2024/25 and the outcomes will be further analysed. It is anticipated that a draft Open Space Strategy will be reported to the Planning Committee in September 2025. Amber Deliver road and transportation infrastructure improvements to support new developments, including those undertaken as part of the City Deal Stewartfield Way and East Kilbride Town Centre Project business case will be prepared in 2024 The Outline Business Case for the Stewartfield Way project was approved at the Council's Executive Committee on 13 November 2024. Complete Produce a new Local Transport Strategy for South Lanarkshire to support the National and Regional Transport Strategy as well as the provisions, where appropriate, of the Transport Scotland Act Draft Local Transport Strategy will be presented to Committee in Autumn 2024 An initial draft structure of Local Transport Strategy (LTS) was submitted to the Community and Enterprise Resource Committee in April 2024. To allow for the strategy to take cognisance of the latest Transport Scotland guidance issued in June 2024, consultation on the draft Local Transport Strategy will now be undertaken in late August - September 2025, with the draft LTS to be presented to Committee for approval later in 2025. Amber Communities and Environment 33
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Council Plan actions and measures IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Provide opportunities for young people to participate in work-based learning opportunities in the senior phase Deliver GradU8 and Foundation Apprenticeship programmes in partnership with colleges to provide young people with a range of work-based learning opportunities. The GradU8 and FA programmes are due to complete in April time with a period of remediation offered thereafter to maximise attainment for pupils. For the academic year 2024-2025 we have delivered a comprehensive Work-based learning offer for senior phase pupils in South Lanarkshire. Our offer has included Foundation Apprenticeships at SCQF level 6 and GradU8 at SCQF level 4/5. Working effectively in partnership with our key college partners South Lanarkshire College, New College Lanarkshire and Glasgow Kelvin College we expanded the offer to include additional frameworks in horticulture. Foundation Apprenticeships has delivered successfully under the ‘South Lanarkshire FA consortium’ banner Green Update the Council Framework for Inclusion guidance taking account of The Morgan Review, the Additional Support for Learning Action Plan, The Promise and Getting it Right for Every Child update Embed the principles and practices in the Inclusion Framework across schools, to improve outcomes for children and young people, and provide a progress report to the Education Resources Committee. The Framework has been distributed in hard copy to all education establishments. It is also available on the Council intranet and on Glow. Feedback is very positive from schools regarding the regular use of this resource and has built capacity in staff to manage tasks related to inclusive education Complete Education and Learning 34
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Council Plan actions and measures IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Complete the roll out of free school meals to all primary children All P6s and P7s to receive free school meals in line with Scottish Government timescales Awaiting confirmation from the Scottish Government of when the expansion of free school meals for all primary six and seven pupils will be rolled out. However, the Scottish Government has introduced free school meals to those pupils in primary six and seven who are in receipt of Scottish Children's Payment. Report Later Children and Young People Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Focus on supporting young people to overcome any disadvantage and take forward our targets for excellence and equity. Locally identified stretch aims including Equity targets focussed on the gap between learners in SIMD quintile 1 and SIMD quintile 5 have been set, and we will report on progress to the Education Resources Committee. Throughout all data collection points for all establishments, Equity at National and Local level are analysed and will be reported to Education Resources Committee based against the Stretch Aims targets at appropriate collection points throughout each session. Green Sustain early years Continue to engage with a range of partners to increase We continue to engage regularly with Health Visitors, Educational Complete uptake for vulnerable uptake of eligible 2-year-old places, and report on progress Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Community two-year-olds to help to Education Resources Committee. More flexible Early Paediatricians, poverty support groups and Speech & Language families benefit from Learning and Childcare. therapists to promote the availability of funded 2 year old places in our more flexible early settings. To date we have been able to allocate a funded place to learning and childcare. 100% of families requesting a place for their eligible 2 year old child. Health and Wellbeing 35
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Council Plan actions and measures IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Ensure that Sheltered housing services are compliant with Care Inspectorate Inspection standards Complete quality assurance checks to monitor and ensure compliance with care inspectorate standards. Each of the 34 sheltered housing complexes will be checked during 2024/25 with findings of completed checks reported on a quarterly basis (RP) Quality Assurance continues to demonstrate high levels of compliance. Green Work with Gypsy/Traveller residents to develop and implement a programme of site improvement Continue to deliver co-produced Site Masterplans at both sites, reflecting council and resident priorities (RP) During 2024-25 identified projects were progressed and discussed and updated with residents. Green Physical regeneration work in priority areas Work with partners to bring 15 Long Term empty homes into use by March 2025 (RP) 28 empty homes have been brought back into use during 2024/25. Complete Ensure effective involvement with tenants and other customer groups as well as understanding our customer satisfaction levels of key service areas Annual Scrutiny Programme 2024 developed June 2024 and implemented by March 2025 (RP) The scrutiny programme for 2024/25, was agreed with tenant representatives. The council's new approach to assessing the medical aspect of housing applications was identified as the area for scrutiny. This scrutiny exercise commenced in October 2024 and concluded early March 2025. Any actions identified from the report will be progressed in 2025/26. Green Increase the number of new affordable homes Total new/additional affordable homes delivered per SHIP and reported to Housing and Technical Resources Committee (RP) 180 homes delivered in the year including 130 properties purchased and 50 new build homes. Green Housing and Land 36
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Council Plan actions and measures IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Improve access to settled accommodation for homeless households and other priority groups such as care experienced young people and people fleeing domestic abuse and veterans Continue to implement Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan (RP) RRTP is fully complete. Homeless Strategic Plan approved at HTR Committee in 16 September 2024. Complete Improve energy efficiency stock to help address fuel poverty Deliver Housing Investment Programmes to improve the energy efficiency of existing council homes to reduce household bills and contribute towards relevant net zero targets £33.506m of refurbishment works approved for 2024/25 of which £6.5m is targeted towards energy efficiency works. Green Consult with community organisations and develop a Rural Action Plan maximising existing and future funding through Community Led Local Development and Renewable Energy Fund Deliver the Rural Action Plan and report to Rural Task Force in November 2024 The Rural Action Plan was reported to the Rural Task Force (RTF) in 2023. It was agreed with the chair not to report to the RTF in November 2024. Work is progressing on the priorities within the Rural Action Plan. Renewable Energy Fund (REF) funding is now aligned to the plan and can support initiatives that progress with rural priorities such as developing the community transport pilot, and providing support for asset transfers and community ownership. Green Housing and Land 37
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Council Plan actions and measures IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Complete East Kilbride Town Centre masterplan and deliver initial actions to enable the delivery of realignment Negotiate and agree terms of masterplan delivery programme. Deliver early projects to support programme of securing change The East Kilbride masterplan is progressing at pace with legal agreements close to completion, South Lanarkshire Council approvals and City deal approvals are in place. A project team has been appointed and a project board has been established. Green Complete Hamilton Town Centre masterplan and deliver initial actions to enable the delivery of realignment Negotiate and agree terms of masterplan delivery programme. Deliver early projects to support programme of securing change Funding is in place to move forward with the Hamilton Town Centre masterplan following the approval of funding in the Council budget of £8m. It is anticipated that a report will be taken to the Community and Enterprise Resource Committee in August 2025 setting out the proposals. Green Promote sustainable economic development across South Lanarkshire Prepare an annual progress report for Community and Enterprise Resources Committee, demonstrating the impact of the South Lanarkshire Economic Strategy (2022-2027) Annual report was presented to Community and Enterprise Resource Committee in April 2024. Complete Our Economy 38
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Council Plan actions and measures IMPROVe - SLC Performance Management System Report printed on Thursday 12 June 2025 Action Measures Comments/ Progress Status Deliver the Levelling Up Funded projects Delivery of the Levelling Up Fund grant funded projects through the Clydesdale Way and Shawfield Remediation with a value of £6.7m in 2024-25 Clydesdale Way: The Grant Award Agreement with Dumfries and Galloway Council, the lead authority for this joint project, has been finalised. Turner and Townsend have been appointed to project manage the design and delivery of the project. UKG have advised the Levelling Up Fund (LUF) spend deadline may be extended to 31 March 2028. The Clydesdale Way delivery programme will be reviewed and updated accordingly. Shawfield: Clyde Gateway have commenced delivery of the project, with the original programme on schedule as at 31 March 2025. The UK Government has released £5,369,204 to date covering expenditure to the end of quarter one 2026/27. Clyde Gateway will continue to monitor the remainder of the programme in line with the UK Government revised guidance on the spend deadline. Green Deliver effective Employability Services to support individuals and business Monitor and adjust the delivery plan agreed via the South Lanarkshire Local Employability Partnership (SLLEP) and Community Planning Partners The Local Employability Partnership continues to meet regularly to review and agree the Annual Investment Plan for the year ahead. The subgroups also meet regularly to look at provision/delivery gaps. Green Our Economy 39
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Appendix 2 Connect: Quarter 2 to Quarter 4 2024-2025 - scrutiny of change in measure status Measure Q2 Status Q4 Status Q4 Comments Performance has improved from Q2 to Q4 Percentage of reports submitted to the Children’s Reporter within agreed timescales (SWR) Red Amber To date, the percentage of reports submitted to the Children's Reporter within timescale is at 72%. Increased monitoring and regular meetings with the Scottish Children's Reporters Administration has improved performance from 85% in Quarter 3 to 91% in Quarter 4. Number of business support interventions per annum by Economic Development (grants, loans or advice) (CER) Amber Green The majority of business support interventions were made up of registration and event attendance via the Supplier Development Programme (SDP). The number of interventions in 2024-2025 was 1,014, exceeding the target of 80 Embed the principles and practices in the Inclusion Framework across schools, to improve outcomes for children and young people, and provide a progress report to the Education Resources Committee (EDR) Amber Blue The Framework has been distributed in hard copy to all education establishments. It is also available on the council intranet and on Glow. Feedback is very positive from schools regarding the regular use of this resource and has built capacity in staff to manage tasks related to inclusive education. Continue to implement the Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan (RHTP) (HTR) Red Blue RHTP is fully complete. Homeless Strategic Plan approved at HTR Committee on 16 September 2024. Delivery of the Levelling Up Fund grant funded projects through the Clydesdale Way and Shawfield Remediation with a value of £6.7m in 2024-2025 (CER) Amber Green Clydesdale Way: The Grant Award Agreement with Dumfries and Galloway Council (the lead authority for this joint project) has been finalised. Turner and Townsend have been appointed to project manage the design and delivery of the project. Shawfield: Clyde Gateway have commenced delivery of the project, with the original programme on schedule as at 31 March 2025. Performance has declined from Q2 to Q4 Percentage of our road network that should be considered for maintenance treatment (CER) Report Later Red This figure is derived from the Society of Chief Officers of Transportation in Scotland (SCOTS) Road Condition Index (RCI) survey which is undertaken each year. The target figure of 31.9% is based on the results for the period 2022-24. The actual figure for 2023-25 at 32.5% indicates a regression of 0.6% of the amount of our road network in an amber or red status. Deterioration is also showing across individual road categories to a similar extent. 40
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Measure Q2 Status Q4 Status Q4 Comments Percentage of total household waste that is recycled in 2024 (CER) Amber Red This measure is reported per calendar year. The year to date figure reflects performance from January to December 2024, which remains below the target of 50%. To help move closer to the target, Waste Services are doing the following: • Extending recycling services at flatted properties to include those that have typically had low participation rates • The Waste Education Team continue to work with residents across South Lanarkshire to improve recycling knowledge and participation • Actively monitoring changes in national legislation and guidance Performance will continue to be closely monitored. Percentage of children and young people attending secondary school Report Later Amber Although the figure to date falls below the target set there is an improvement on the 2023/24 figure of 87.7% Percentage of pupils entering positive destinations (initial destinations) (EDR) Green Amber 3,625 young people left school in 2023-24 and the positive destination rate decreased by 0.5 percentage points to 96.4% compared with the previous year. South Lanarkshire has maintained a positive rate higher than the National average of 95.7%. Discussions are taking place with all schools and Skills Development Scotland to discuss those young people in negative destinations and identify any lessons learned. Number of new South Lanarkshire business starts supported by Business Gateway (CER) Amber Red This year represents a transition for the Business Gateway, changing from a contract based external provider model, to an in house model which will reflect a more customer focused, rather than target driven, delivery model. The transition led to a significant disruption to the service. Through the revised customer focused service approach appropriate target levels will be established going forward 41
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Local Government Benchmarking Framework Results (to 2023/2024) Connect Outcome South Lanarkshire Council LGBF Results 2023/24 LGBF Ref Description 2021/22 Results 2022/23 Results 2023/24 Results Result Trend Scotland 2023/24 Scottish Average Comparison with Scotland: better or worse? Comments/Progress Communities and Environment C&L05a Percentage of adults satisfied with libraries 67.30% 66.30% 69.00% 67.00% The satisfaction rate for adults satisfied with library services within South Lanarkshire is slightly higher than 2022/23 and above the Scottish average and above the ‘family grouping’ average. C&L05c Percentage of adults satisfied with museums and galleries 65.70% 66.30% 70.70% 69.30% The satisfaction rate for adults satisfied with museum and galleries within South Lanarkshire is increasing and is above the Scottish average and above the ‘family grouping’ average. C&L05d Percentage of adults satisfied with leisure facilities 68.00% 69.70% 66.70% 67.00% The satisfaction rate with leisure facilities in South Lanarkshire is slightly lower than 2022/23, and slightly below the Scottish average. However in the context of the ‘family grouping’ South Lanarkshire sits above the group average. Residents completing the household survey may not be users of leisure facilities and are merely giving a perceived view, rather than based on actual experience. SLLC conducted a Customer Satisfaction Survey in 2023/24 to assess actual service delivery which focused on people who use leisure facilities that concluded staff were excellent, scoring 98% and gave an overall satisfaction rate of 94% (combined score for value for money/ cleanliness/ quality of services and equipment). Customers have consistently rated leisure services highly over several years. ENV03c Street cleanliness score 92.10% 92.30% 91.60% 92.10% The South Lanarkshire street cleanliness score remains close to the Scottish average. ENV04b Percentage of A class roads that should be considered for maintenance treatment 23.99% 23.90% 24.90% 28.90% There has been a significant decline in the condition of A class roads in South Lanarkshire. Recent high levels of construction inflation and static maintenance budgets have significantly reduced the length of road network that can be resurface / repaired on an annual basis. However, it should be noted the condition of the A Class network in South Lanarkshire remains better than the Scottish average. ENV04c Percentage of B class roads that should be considered for maintenance treatment 25.62% 26.10% 27.80% 32.50% There has been regression in the condition of B class roads in South Lanarkshire however their condition remains substantially better than the Scottish average. ENV04d Percentage of C class roads that should be considered for 34.91% 35.60% 36.50% 33.40% There has been regression in the condition of C class roads in South Lanarkshire and their condition falls below that of the Scottish average. Appendix 3 42
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Local Government Benchmarking Framework Results (to 2023/2024) Connect Outcome South Lanarkshire Council LGBF Results 2023/24 LGBF Ref Description 2021/22 Results 2022/23 Results 2023/24 Results Result Trend Scotland 2023/24 Scottish Average Comparison with Scotland: better or worse? Comments/Progress maintenance treatment Our C class road network is fully surveyed every four years and during survey period 2022-24 we observed a regression in its condition. Our road surfacing decision making process takes account of road category and as a result a greater level of investment is targeted towards our more strategic road network (A Class). As a result of rising construction inflation and static maintenance budgets over recent years the amount of resurfacing we have been able to carry out on an annual basis has reduced significantly. Recent survey results for 2023-25 have noted regression in A, B and C road classes but it is hoped that following recent budget announcements that we will be able to stabilise the road condition over the coming years. ENV04e Percentage of U (unclassified) roads that should be considered for maintenance treatment 29.91% 31.60% 32.60% 36.20% Unclassified roads make up a sizeable proportion of the road network in South Lanarkshire. In 2023/24, it is noted that there has been a further regression in their condition, however performance remains better than the Scottish average. ENV06 The percentage of total household waste arising that is recycled 40.40% 41.10% 41.00% 43.50% The percentage of total household waste that is recycled decreased slightly in 2023/24 compared to the previous year and is still below the Scottish average. Multi-occupancy properties (flatted developments) make up over 30% of housing stock in South Lanarkshire. The lack of space at these properties means opportunities to provide recycling services are limited. Moreover, when recycling bins are provided often the only option is to provide large communal bins, where contamination rates are significantly higher. It should also be recognised that South Lanarkshire is one of the few councils to still provide a fortnightly residual waste collection, meaning residents have a minimum of 120L of residual waste capacity each week. It is accepted that recycling rates are lower when households receive more residual waste capacity. CLIM02 CO2 Emissions area wide: emissions within scope of Local Authority (LA) per Capita 3.73 3.26 ------ ------ Education and Learning CHN04 Percentage of pupils gaining 5+ awards at 71.0% 70.0% 70.0% 67.0% 43
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Local Government Benchmarking Framework Results (to 2023/2024) Connect Outcome South Lanarkshire Council LGBF Results 2023/24 LGBF Ref Description 2021/22 Results 2022/23 Results 2023/24 Results Result Trend Scotland 2023/24 Scottish Average Comparison with Scotland: better or worse? Comments/Progress level 5 CHN11 Percentage of pupils entering positive destinations 96.2% 96.9% ------ ------ The percentage of pupils entering positive destinations in South Lanarkshire remains consistently higher than both the National Average and the Family Median. CHN14a Literacy attainment gap P1,4,7 combined - % point gap between the least deprived and most deprived pupils 24.40% 22.30% 21.75% 20.23% Since 2021/22, the gap between the percentage of pupils in Primary 1, Primary 4, and Primary 7 who have achieved or exceeded the appropriate Curriculum for Excellence level in literacy, in the most and least deprived quintiles, has decreased across South Lanarkshire. The Curriculum for Excellence is designed to develop four key capacities in each child or young person: to be a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen, and an effective contributor. The Scottish Attainment Challenge aims to achieve equity in education by ensuring every child has the same opportunity to succeed, with a particular focus on closing the poverty-related attainment gap. CHN14b Numeracy attainment gap P1,4,7 combined - % point gap between the least deprived and most deprived pupils 18.60% 17.70% 17.38% 17.41% Since 2021/22, the gap in numeracy achievement between pupils in Primary 1, Primary 4, and Primary 7 from the most and least deprived quintiles has decreased across South Lanarkshire. The Curriculum for Excellence is designed to develop four key capacities in each child or young person: to be a successful learner, a confident individual, a responsible citizen, and an effective contributor. The Scottish Attainment Challenge focuses on achieving equity in education by ensuring every child has the same opportunity to succeed, with a particular emphasis on closing the poverty-related attainment gap. CHN19b School attendance rate - looked after children ------ 83.20% ------ ------ Results collected biennially - expected for 2024-25 Health and Wellbeing SW01 Home Care costs per hour for people aged 65 or over £30.47 £31.52 £37.10 £33.59 Home Care costs per hour for people aged 65 or over in South Lanarkshire increased in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23, with ranking dropping from 13 to 18. South Lanarkshire had the second highest cost per hour amongst the comparator Family Group, however, costs in the Family Group vary significantly. The number of Home Care Hours used within the calculation for this indicator is inclusive of services provided by different staff-groups or purchased from different agencies. The costs of such services are included whether they are provided by the local authority, purchased from another local authority, or 44
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Local Government Benchmarking Framework Results (to 2023/2024) Connect Outcome South Lanarkshire Council LGBF Results 2023/24 LGBF Ref Description 2021/22 Results 2022/23 Results 2023/24 Results Result Trend Scotland 2023/24 Scottish Average Comparison with Scotland: better or worse? Comments/Progress purchased from private or voluntary sector providers. Internally, the outcome of a job evaluation within the Care at Home service resulted in increased employee costs following increased salaries for frontline staff. Costs have increased as a result of a number of factors. Nationally, inflation and increased cost of living have impacted more generally on costs. In addition, there were substantial increases to the living wage which resulted in increased rates for Care at Home providers. SW05 Residential cost per week per resident for people aged 65 or over £755.00 £736.00 £717.00 £723.00 This measure relates to the average net cost to the council. South Lanarkshire had a lower spend per week in 2023-24 compared to the Scottish average. South Lanarkshire’s ranking has improved from 20 to 19. The performance of each council is influenced by demographics and contributions made by service users which mean costs vary significantly. Within the South Lanarkshire LGBF comparative Family Group, the residential costs per week per resident for people aged 65 or over vary by over £500 between the lowest and highest costs. The cost of care also increases year on year with changes to the national care home rate. SW06 Rate of readmissions to hospital within 28 days per 1,000 discharges 106.27 99.90 96.50 103.90 In South Lanarkshire the rate of readmissions decreased further this year and South Lanarkshire continue to perform better than the Scottish average. Information on the six areas of the Health and Social Care Delivery Plan are monitored monthly and formally reported on a quarterly basis to the Social Work Committee (alongside the Integration Joint Board). South Lanarkshire continue to embed the Home First approach across the localities supported by Home Assessment Teams where necessary. This reablement approach optimises independence over a six-week period, enabling people to remain in their own homes, or supporting discharge from hospital with the support of health, social care and third sector provision to meet any ongoing needs identified. The intermediate care unit is now embedded, supporting reablement and flow as a step-down 45
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Local Government Benchmarking Framework Results (to 2023/2024) Connect Outcome South Lanarkshire Council LGBF Results 2023/24 LGBF Ref Description 2021/22 Results 2022/23 Results 2023/24 Results Result Trend Scotland 2023/24 Scottish Average Comparison with Scotland: better or worse? Comments/Progress option. SW08 Number of days people spend in hospital when they are ready to be discharged, per 1,000 population (75+) 910.36 1,005.00 938.00 846.00 Performance for this indicator has improved in 2023-24. The Scottish average declined and is in line with pre-pandemic performance. South Lanarkshire ranking improved from 22 to 21. The Target Operating procedure has been implemented across all Lanarkshire sites supporting planned date of discharge planning at an earlier stage. The initial work undertaken as part of the Discharge without Delay (DWD) programme has now been subsumed within Operation Flow. Hospital staff and other partners work together closely to establish clear timeframes of when someone will go from hospital to community. The Home Assessment Teams are a key element of this programme and as they embed, they will have greater impact addressing the pressures associated with people who are delayed in hospital by putting the person at the centre of the process and allowing for a 6-week period of rehabilitation and enablement on discharge, targeted through a robust assessment and care plan. Early and effective planning improves the benefits for those currently in hospital by discharging home at the earliest and safest opportunity and creates capacity for patients who require admission. The intermediate care unit within Blantyre Life is now also supporting reablement and flow from hospital as a step-down option. Children and Young People CHN08a The gross cost of "Children Looked After" in residential based services per child per week £3,860.00 £4,477.00 ------ ------ CHN08b The gross cost of "Children Looked After" in a community setting per child per week £307.00 £360.00 ------ ------ CHN09 Percentage of children being looked after in the community 90.40% 89.50% ------ ------ 46
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Local Government Benchmarking Framework Results (to 2023/2024) Connect Outcome South Lanarkshire Council LGBF Results 2023/24 LGBF Ref Description 2021/22 Results 2022/23 Results 2023/24 Results Result Trend Scotland 2023/24 Scottish Average Comparison with Scotland: better or worse? Comments/Progress CHN17 % of children meeting developmental milestones 80.80% 81.90% ------ ------ CHN23 % Looked After Children (LAC) with more than 1 placement in the last year (Aug-July) 15.60% 13.90% ------ ------ CHN24 Percentage of children living in poverty (After Housing Costs) 22.8% 23.6% ------ ------ Housing and Land HSN01b Gross rent arrears (all tenants) as at 31 March, as a percentage of rent due for the reporting year 8.91% 8.70% 8.00% 9.50% Resource target achieved and significantly lower than Scottish average. The strong performance has been secured despite the financial pressures which tenants continue to face due to the economic situation. A range of supports measures continue to assist tenants facing financial hardship. The Council will continue to set affordable rents and provide advice. Performance continues to be routinely monitored with a focus on continuous improvement. HSN02 Percentage of rent due in the year that was lost due to voids 0.60% 0.60% 0.50% 1.80% Performance this year has improved compared to the previous two years. The Resource continues to focus on void management to minimise void rent loss with a number of improvement actions identified. Performance in this area has been consistently among the best in Scotland compared to other Local Authorities. In the past three years we have been the second lowest void rent loss and well below the Scottish average. HSN04b Average number of days taken to complete non emergency repairs 11.76 days 11.60 days 14.50 days 10.00 days Performance in this area has decreased and although above the Scottish average is viewed positively because it is based on an appointment-based system that is supported by tenants and tenants’ representatives. This was expected as a result of the suspension of our non-emergency repairs between June-September 2023. The increase is due to the level of demand on the service when repairs recommenced. Improvement activity within the repairs service continues in 47
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Local Government Benchmarking Framework Results (to 2023/2024) Connect Outcome South Lanarkshire Council LGBF Results 2023/24 LGBF Ref Description 2021/22 Results 2022/23 Results 2023/24 Results Result Trend Scotland 2023/24 Scottish Average Comparison with Scotland: better or worse? Comments/Progress 2024-25 to support the reduction of the average time taken although the councils focus will continue to be on quality rather than speed of service. HSN05a Percentage of council dwellings that are energy efficient 98.64% ------ ------ ------ The 2025 and 2032 EESSH Milestones have been suspended as the Scottish Government are reviewing the EESSH2 standards to strengthen and realign the standard with the target for net zero heat in houses from 2045. In advance of the new national indicators, a review of housing stock is underway to determine the additional energy measures required to achieve energy efficiency and carbon reduction requirements within the council’s housing stock. Our Economy ECON01 Percentage of unemployed people assisted into work from council funded/operated employability programmes 22.04% 12.90% 11.80% 12.10% The transformation review of employability has included the roll-out of the Advice Pro client tracking system to all programmes for 2024/25. This new tracking system will ensure all job outcomes are reported accurately. The figure reported here for 2023/24 reflects the position before the use of Advice Pro client and as a result there may be some under-reporting of outcomes. Overall, the total number of jobs is anticipated to increase in 2024/25, and going forward this, combined with the more accurate reporting above, should result in an increase in the percentage of unemployed people assisted into work from council funded/operated employability programmes. ECON07 Percentage of people earning less than the living wage 12.50% 10.00% 10.60% 10.20% South Lanarkshire’s performance has dropped slightly since last year and remains lower that the Scottish average. The pan Lanarkshire Living Wage Campaign Group continues to meet quarterly and promote the Living Wage on an ongoing basis. A new Action Plan is being worked on which will be submitted to CER Committee in due course, and along with new members, the group will be well placed to achieve and maintain our target of 10% of employees earning the real Living Wage. South Lanarkshire has 180 Living Wage accredited employers with 2,639 employees gaining an uplift in salary. This is the fourth highest Council area in Scotland. ECON08 Percentage of properties receiving 97.00% 97.60% 98.30% 95.90% In 2023/24, there was an increase of properties in South Lanarkshire with access to high-speed broadband and speeds 48
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Local Government Benchmarking Framework Results (to 2023/2024) Connect Outcome South Lanarkshire Council LGBF Results 2023/24 LGBF Ref Description 2021/22 Results 2022/23 Results 2023/24 Results Result Trend Scotland 2023/24 Scottish Average Comparison with Scotland: better or worse? Comments/Progress superfast broadband greater than 30 Mbps. This figure continues to rise slowly and remains above the Scottish average. The majority of the properties not yet able to access high speed broadband are located within rural areas. These properties are either included within the Scottish Government's R100 investment programme and projected to receive full fibre connection by 2026, or are too difficult or expensive to connect to an existing network and are therefore eligible for the Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme to help find alternative solutions. ECON09 Town vacancy rates 9.85% 14.00% 14.80% 12.30% Whilst the trend appears to be moving in a negative direction, this is substantially influenced by the major changes happening in East Kilbride and Hamilton Town Centres. The rest of the towns continue to perform well with the majority showing vacancy rates at or below the national average. CORP07 Percentage of income due from Council Tax received by the end of the year 96.19% 97.00% 96.40% 95.50% The percentage of income due from Council Tax in 2023-24 has decreased compared to 2022-23. In 2022-23 113,000 households received £150 credited to their council tax account, funded by Scottish Government, to help reduce the burden on them of paying council tax during the cost-of-living crisis. In effect council tax income was boosted by this one-off payment from many households who ordinarily would have had significant arrears. However, South Lanarkshire Council’s performance continues to be better than the Scottish average. Actions: Work to maximise council tax income collection will continue in 2024-25, utilising all available recovery methods FINSUS02 Uncommitted General Fund Balance as a % of council annual budgeted net revenue 1.50% 1.50% 1.40% 2.30% The value of the Council’s Uncommitted General Fund balance has not changed from 2019/2020. The council's budget has increased therefore resulting in a minor decrease in the percentage. This is very much an arithmetic impact. Our uncommitted balance has not changed, but the budget has changed due to external factors including government grant ringfenced for specific purposes. The council’s position on reserves is included in the Revenue Budget Strategy. FINSUS05 Actual outturn as a percentage of budgeted expenditure 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 99.60% The outturn reflects that the council reported a breakeven position after all transfers to reserves. The SLC position is consistent across years, but movement in other councils' figures 49
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Local Government Benchmarking Framework Results (to 2023/2024) Connect Outcome South Lanarkshire Council LGBF Results 2023/24 LGBF Ref Description 2021/22 Results 2022/23 Results 2023/24 Results Result Trend Scotland 2023/24 Scottish Average Comparison with Scotland: better or worse? Comments/Progress may result in a change to our ranking going forward. 50
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum Date of Meeting: 19 August 2025 Report by: Chief Executive Subject: Annual Performance Spotlights 2024/2025 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] ♦ provide the Forum with a draft version of the Annual Performance Spotlights (APSs) infographics for 2024/2025 [1purpose] 2. Recommendations: 2.1. The Forum is asked to approve the following recommendations:- [recs] (1) that the infographics content of the Annual Performance Spotlights is noted; and (2) that the Annual Performance Spotlights be uploaded onto the Council’s website in September 2025, well ahead of the statutory deadline of 31 March 2026. 3. Background 3.1. The Council’s first Annual Performance Report (APR) was prepared based on 2011/2012 information and represented part of the Council’s ongoing commitment to continuous improvement in respect of its approach to public performance reporting (PPR). 3.2. On 4 September 2018, the Forum considered a report which set out plans to review the APR component of the Council’s PPR approach, in light of the continuing evolution of the Accounts Commission’s expectations and taking into account feedback from Audit Scotland on the APR in particular. 3.3. A new approach was developed which replaced the APR document with Annual Performance Spotlights (APSs) – bite sized web content performance information comprising a case study, selection of infographics and links to other related material - one for each Connect objective plus the theme Delivering the Plan and achieving Best Value. 3.4. Following extensive consultation and engagement the new Council Plan Connect 2022 to 2027 was approved by Council on 15 June 2022 and the overall structure is now based on six Outcomes and the Best Value theme. In line with this revised structure an Annual Performance Spotlight is presented for each of the Council’s six Outcomes, comprising a case study, selection of infographics and links to other material. 4 51
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3.5. This report now provides the Forum with the opportunity to consider the draft infographics content of the APSs. 4. Current Position 4.1. The Improvement Unit has worked closely with services across the Council to bring together the content of the APSs. The focus, at all times, has been to ensure that the information included is of interest to the public, balanced and readily accessible. These are key requirements of Public Performance Reporting, as set out by the Accounts Commission. 4.2. The draft infographics for the APSs 2024/2025, as they will appear on the performance pages of the Council’s website, are attached as Appendix 1. Further explanatory narrative for those measures where targets were not met or where performance was not improving in 2024/2025 is attached as Appendix 2. 4.3. In line with the Council’s shift towards a digital first approach, the focus has been on providing performance information as content on the web. The performance pages of the Council’s website allow our customers, communities and residents to browse the information electronically. 4.4. The Spotlights use infographics to visually present information about the Council’s performance. The infographics show performance against certain measures for each of the Council’s six strategic Outcomes. In response to points made by the Accounts Commission in the Best Value Assurance Report 2019 (BVAR), the following improvements were made: ♦ for each infographic, trend information is included with a clear indication whether or not performance has improved and if the target has been met ♦ a link has been added directly below the infographic on the website to supporting data or further reports or more detailed information 4.5. In order to gather feedback which will help us to continue to improve our public performance reporting material, any messages received via the dedicated Performance and improvement email address is monitored. 4.6. To complement the APSs, we will continue to prepare the suite of ‘public performance reports’ (PPRs) which focus on key areas of Council business. Each report includes a clear presentation of data; targets and narrative to introduce and explain the performance indicators and results; comparisons, customer feedback, satisfaction statistics and links or signposts to further relevant information. These reports were praised by Audit Scotland in their Public Performance Reporting assessment in 2015 and by the public in our web testing exercise. Since they were first uploaded (at the end of March 2015) they have attracted thousands of visitors to the performance pages of the website indicating that there is an audience for the performance information, and that the web pages provide us with a platform on which to report and highlight our performance to the public. 4.7. The 2024/2025 Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) indicator results are not due to be published by the Local Government Improvement Service until January 2026, at the earliest. These will be included in our public performance reporting material which is to be completed by the statutory deadline of 31 March 2026, allowing us time to analyse the results. 52
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5. Public Performance Reporting Assessment 5.1. The Accounts Commission (the Commission) has a statutory responsibility to define the performance information that councils must publish for performance comparisons and benchmarking purposes. This is closely linked with the Commission’s Best Value audit responsibilities. 5.2. Since 2008, the Commission has taken steps to develop a more flexible approach to its statutory responsibility to define the performance information that councils must publish. 5.3. The 2015 Direction set out a streamlined and more flexible set of performance information for the 2016/2017 financial year and each year through to the financial year ending March 2019. The Accounts Commission published their most recent refresh of the Direction in December 2024 (for reporting the results for financial years 2025/2026 to 2027/2028). The additional requirements and implications will be taken into account in the Council’s Public Performance Reporting material. 5.4. As noted at 3.2 and 3.3. above, the APSs and the Council’s approach to Public Performance Reporting generally continues to evolve in response to user feedback and changing legislative requirements. It is intended that the format of the APSs will continue to be reviewed to ensure the documents keep pace with public expectations and also with Audit Scotland’s requirements in respect of Public Performance Reporting, continuous improvement and Best Value. The APSs will continue to be complemented by a full suite of performance information on the Council’s website. 6. Next Steps 6.1. The Forum is asked to note the APSs 2024/2025 infographics content for the Council’s website. 6.2. Looking forwards, Council officers will continue to review the presentation of the Annual Performance Spotlights, and Public Performance Reporting generally, to take account of changes arising. 7. Employee Implications 7.1. There are no employee implications relating to this report. 8. Financial Implications 8.1. There are no financial implications relating to this report. 9. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 9.1 There are no Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications relating to this report. 9.2. The Council acknowledges the serious and immediate threat of climate change and is committed to accelerating the pace of action in response to the climate emergency and in Scotland’s transition to a net-zero and climate resilient society and economy. 10. Other Implications 10.1. The work undertaken in the preparation of the APSs assists in providing assurance that the Council is responding to its Best Value obligations in terms of continuous improvement and public performance reporting. 53
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11. Integrated Impact Assessment and Consultation Requirements 11.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy, and therefore no impact assessment is required. 11.2. There is also no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in this report. Paul Manning Chief Executive 7 July 2025 Link to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes ♦ Ambitious, self-aware and improving ♦ Accountable, effective, efficient and transparent Previous References ♦ Report to Forum (27 August 2024) Annual Performance Spotlights 2023/2024 List of Background Papers None Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Tom Little, Head of Communications and Strategy Ext: 4904 (Tel: 01698 454904) E-mail: tom.little@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 54
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Produced by Communications and Strategy. 068191/Jun25 Children being looked after in a community setting Target met ✔ Performance maintained Target: more than 90% 2023-24 90% 2024-25 90% Children and young people outcome How we did in 2024-25 Council Plan 2022 2027 Target met ✔ Performance improving ✔ Gap in attendance between secondary pupils from the least and most deprived areas Target: 8.0% 2024-25 8.5% 2023-24 8.3% School Pupils entering positive destinations Target met ✘ Performance improving ✘ Target: 96.5% 2023-24 96.9% 2024-25 96.4% Note: 2024-25 education results are for academic year 2024. The number of learners achieving nationally recognised awards Target met ✔ Performance improving ✔ Target: 1,000 2023-24 1,279 2024-25 1,286 If you need this information in another language or format, please contact us to discuss how we can best meet your needs. Phone: 0303 123 1015 Email: equalities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/connect SLC digital proof 55
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Produced by Communications and Strategy. 068191/Jun25 Note: 2024-25 education results are for academic year 2024. Education and learning outcome If you need this information in another language or format, please contact us to discuss how we can best meet your needs. Phone: 0303 123 1015 Email: equalities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/connect How we did in 2024-25 Council Plan 2022 2027 Percentage gap between P1, P4 and P7 pupils from the least and most deprived areas attaining the appropriate Curriculum for Excellence level for their stage or better in Literacy Target met ✔ Performance improving ✔ Target: 21.5% 2023-24 22.3% 2024-25 17.4% Target: 93.0% Target: 89.0% Target met ✘ Performance improving ✔ Percentage gap between P1, P4 and P7 pupils from the least and most deprived areas attaining the appropriate Curriculum for Excellence level for their stage or better in Numeracy Target met ✔ Performance improving ✔ Target: 18.1% 2023-24 22.3% 2024-25 13.8% Percentage of children and young people attending primary school Percentage of children and young people attending secondary school Target met ✔ Performance improving ✔ 2023-24 87.2% 2024-25 88.3% 2023-24 92.9% 2024-25 93.8% Primary School SLC digital proof 56
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Produced by Communications and Strategy. 068191/Jun25 Our economy outcome If you need this information in another language or format, please contact us to discuss how we can best meet your needs. Phone: 0303 123 1015 Email: equalities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/connect Target met ✔ Performance improving ✔ Unemployed people supported via council operated employability programmes Target: 1,500 2023-24 2,663 2024-25 3,059 , 2023-24 870 2024-25 804 Number of unemployed people accessing further education or training Target met ✔ Performance improving ✘ Target: 400 Increased value of sales generated by businesses as a direct result of Economic Development intervention Target met ✔ Performance improving ✘ Target: £5m 2023-24 £14.5m 2024-25 £8.5m How we did in 2024-25 Council Plan 2022 2027 Number of jobs created or sustained as a direct result of Economic Development intervention Target met ✔ Performance improving ✔ 2023-24 646 2024-25 1,071 Target: 500 £ ? SLC digital proof 57
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Produced by Communications and Strategy. 068191/Jun25 Communities and environment outcome If you need this information in another language or format, please contact us to discuss how we can best meet your needs. Phone: 0303 123 1015 Email: equalities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/connect Target met ✔ Performance improving ✔ Percentage of household waste sent to landfill Target: 5% 2023-24 1.5% 2024-25 1.3% How we did in 2024-25 Council Plan 2022 2027 Percentage of our road network that should be considered for maintenance treatment (Road Condition Index) Target: 31.9% 31.9% 2023-24 32.5% 2024-25 Target met ✘ Performance improving ✘ Target met ✔ Performance improving ✔ Percentage of streets found to be acceptable during Litter Monitoring System (LMS) Surveys Target: 92% 2023-24 92% 2024-25 92.6% Target met ✘ Performance improving ✘ Percentage of total household waste that is recycled Target: 50% 2024-25 41.8% 2023-24 43.7% SLC digital proof 58
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Produced by Communications and Strategy. 068191/Jun25 If you need this information in another language or format, please contact us to discuss how we can best meet your needs. Phone: 0303 123 1015 Email: equalities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/connect Local authority and private Welfare guardianship visits completed on time Target met ✔ Performance improving ✘ Target: 75% 8888%%9292%% 2023-24 2024-25 Number of carers known to South Lanarkshire Carers Health and Wellbeing outcome How we did in 2024-25 Council Plan 2022 2027 Target met ✔ Performance improving ✘Target met ✔ Performance improving ✔ Percentage of care at home hours reduced through Home Assessment team 2023-24 37% 2024-25 30% Target: 30% Target: 3,000 3,459 3,7522023-24 2024-25 Number of people participating in a co-produced SDS Assessment to exercise choice and control over their care 2024-25 7,949 Target: increase by 10% Target met ✔ Performance improving ✔ 2023-24 6,825 SLC digital proof 59
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Produced by Communications and Strategy. 068191/Jun25 Housing and land outcome If you need this information in another language or format, please contact us to discuss how we can best meet your needs. Phone: 0303 123 1015 Email: equalities@southlanarkshire.gov.uk www.southlanarkshire.gov.uk/connect How we did in 2024-25 Council Plan 2022 2027 Average time taken to relet empty properties Target met ✔ Performance improving ✔ Target: 28 days Target met ✔ Performance maintained Repairs completed right first time Target: 90% 2023-24 99% 2024-25 99% Percentage of lets to urgent homeless (UH) households Target met ✔ Performance improving ✘ Target: 55% 2023-24 62.9% 2024-25 62.5% Percentage of new tenancies sustained for more than a year for all lets Target met ✔ Performance improving ✘ Target: 88% 2023-24 92.2% 2024-25 91.9% 2023-24 22.1 days 2024-25 19.3 daysSLC digital proof 60
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Appendix 2 Explanatory narrative for those measures where targets were not met or where performance was not improving in 2024-2025 Outcomes: Measure Target Perf Explanations/narrative Education and learning Percentage of children and young people attending secondary school X Although the figure to date falls below the target set there is an improvement on the 2023-24 figure. Children and young people Pupils entering positive destinations X X 3,625 young people left school in 2023-24 and the positive destination rate decreased slightly by 0.5 percentage points to 96.4% from 96.9% the previous year. South Lanarkshire has maintained a positive rate higher than the national rate of National average 95.7%. Discussions are taking place with all schools and Skills Development Scotland to discuss those young people in negative destinations and identify any lessons learned. Our economy Number of unemployed people accessing further education or training X 804 participants have accessed further education or training via the Employability Team since April 2024 to March 2025, exceeding the target of 400. The 2024-25 target was set following the restructure of the Employability Service. In addition to this the service was going through the process of establishing new and additional programmes. These programmes were set up to receive referrals more quickly than anticipated. This, coupled with the establishment of effective referral routes and a high level of demand, has led to significant over achievement against this target. The target has been revised for 2025-26 to reflect this. Increased value of sales generated by businesses as a direct result of Economic Development intervention X In 2023-24, the sales figure was derived exclusively from additional sales from Business Support Grants. Although lower than in 2023-24, the £8.532m achieved in 2024-25 is taken from business grant applications and demonstrates the significant impact our grant scheme has on supporting local businesses. Communities and environment Percentage of total household waste that is recycled X X This measure is reported per calendar year and reflects the performance from January to December 2024. The annual household waste recycling figure is below target. The inability to now recycle Waste Upholstered Domestic Seating (WUDS) means that this type of waste must be incinerated. This is having an impact on the amount of bulky waste that is recycled. The full extent of the impact is not yet known, but information will be provided when available. To help move closer to the 50% target, Waste Services are doing the following: • Extending recycling services at flatted properties to include those that have typically had low participation rates. Supported by the £0.28 million of Scottish Government Recycling Improvement Fund investment over two years, the council has procured new bespoke communal recycling bins. The bin roll out is now 61
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Outcomes: Measure Target Perf Explanations/narrative complete, however, the full impact on recycling rates and resident behaviour will not be available until the end of 2025. Progress will be monitored going forward. • The Waste Education Team continue to work with residents across South Lanarkshire to improve recycling knowledge and participation. By offering guidance and engaging directly with communities they aim to support long-term improvements in sustainable waste management. • Actively monitoring changes in national legislation and guidance, as outlined in the Waste Policy Update Report presented to the Climate Change and Sustainability Committee in March 2025. The Council is committed to aligning with forthcoming Scottish Government requirements and embedding best practice to increase recycling rates Percentage of our road network that should be considered for maintenance treatment (Road Condition Index) X X This figure is derived from the Scottish Collaboration of Transportation Specialists (SCOTS) Road Condition Index (RCI) survey which is undertaken each year. The target of 31.9% for 2023-25 is based on the results for the period 2022-24. The actual figure for 2023-25 of 32.5% indicates a regression of 0.6% of the amount of our road network in an amber or red status. Deterioration is also showing across individual road categories to a similar extent. It is hoped that following the budget announcement in February 2025 to increase capital funding we will be able to stabilise the condition of the network in the coming year. Health and wellbeing Percentage of care at home hours reduced through Home Assessment Team X In 2024-25, care packages were reduced on average by 29% following Home Assessment Team (HAT) intervention. In the same period, the service supported over 1,000 episodes of care; and 50% of service users who completed HAT intervention either required reduced or no support following intervention. Performance has fallen slightly short of the 30% annual target. A review of the service model and criteria for the service is currently underway which is expected to result in changes to pathways, increasing the flow and capacity through HAT which will have a positive impact on performance going forward. Local authority and private Welfare guardianship visits completed on time X Performance in this measure has reduced from 92% in 2023- 24 to 88% in 2024-25, however, performance remains above the revised 75% annual target. A revised Standard Operating Procedure for Adults with Incapacity and Supervising Officer Visits was implemented at the beginning of the 2024-25 reporting year, which reduced the target from 90% to 75%, in recognition of the increasing numbers of adults with Welfare Guardianship Orders and resultant increased demand on the service. Housing and Land % of lets to urgent homeless (UH) households X Although target was exceeded and performance reduced by 0.4%, the operating context in relation to the prevention of homelessness remains extremely challenging. The prevailing socio-economic conditions continued to adversely impact upon the ability to prevent homelessness during 2024-25. This trend has been mirrored nationally. % of new tenancies X Although target exceeded, performance reduced by 0.3% in 2024-25. This indicator continues to be management focus 62
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Outcomes: Measure Target Perf Explanations/narrative sustained for more than a year for all lets and is reported to the Scottish Housing Regulator on an annual basis. 63
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum Date of Meeting: 19 August 2025 Report by: Chief Executive Subject: Accounts Commission Audit of Best Value – East Lothian Council and Renfrewshire Council 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] advise the Forum of key messages and recommendations from recent reports published by the Accounts Commission on Best Value [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Forum is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- [] (1) that the key messages and recommendations within the report be noted. [1recs] 3. Background 3.1. Towards the end of 2023, the Accounts Commission introduced a new approach to the Audit of Best Value to replace the Best Value Assurance Report (BVAR) regime which had run from 2018 to 2023. 3.2. The approach consists of brief Controller of Audit (CoA) reports accompanied by and reflecting on published annual audit reports. These CoA reports are considered by the Commission in public and reported publicly. 3.3. The CoA reports are intended to offer a BV-focused reflection on the Council’s annual audit report. In line with the previous practice of bringing BVAR findings to the Forum to highlight good practice and place our own activities in context, the findings from the recent CoA reports are summarised below. 4. East Lothian Council (published 3 July 2025) 4.1. The report for East Lothian Council is positive, highlighting strengths in strategic and financial planning, community engagement, and consultation with employees. The Commission findings are: Against the demand challenges presented by East Lothian’s growing population, the council has improved or maintained performance across many service areas. But this is set against the use of reserves to balance budgets. The council recognises that this is no longer sustainable, and we are pleased to see a financial strategy that commits to limiting the use of one-off resources going forward and to using reserves for ‘invest to save’ initiatives. Elected members must continue to work together to take the difficult decisions necessary to address the projected cumulative budget gap and ensure financial sustainability. 5 65
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In response to resource and demand-led pressures, the Council Plan now focuses on a smaller number of key priorities, underpinned by its financial strategy, transformation strategy and workforce plan. A focus on defining actions, setting clear targets, maintaining oversight of performance, and clearly articulating required improvement actions for these plans is important, if the council’s ambitions are to be realised. As auditors have recommended, the council must also be clear about what is an acceptable level of performance in non-priority areas. We expect to see evidence in subsequent audits of significant progress in relation to the council’s transformation strategy. Of particular importance is ensuring capacity to deliver its digital transformation projects, which have the potential to shape the workforce of the future and lay the foundations for service transformation. We encourage digital and finance teams to continue to work collaboratively as a new finance system is implemented, so that risks are minimised and the system’s full benefits can be realised, including improved efficiency and more robust internal controls. Like many councils, East Lothian faces persistent workforce capacity, recruitment and retention challenges, so we would encourage it to build on its existing workforce planning foundations and fully implement the auditors’ recommendations as a matter of priority. The council should also continue to seek opportunities to collaborate and share services and staff with other councils and partners. The Commission recognises the council’s commitment to leadership development for officers, and training for elected members on effective scrutiny. Ensuring continued development for councillors is critical given the difficult choices that lie ahead. The council’s commitment to community engagement and empowerment is demonstrated through its service structures and delegated funding. We were encouraged by the way the council engaged with residents in advance of decisions on council tax (as part of setting its 2025/26 budget) and look forward to hearing about how its new Participation and Engagement Strategy can deepen dialogue with communities about the difficult choices that lie ahead. Community views will be invaluable to the cross-party budget working group when taking tough decisions about prioritisation and future budgets. A high response rate to the council’s most recent staff engagement survey is encouraging and we look forward to seeing what more it does in future surveys to encourage and facilitate more front-line, non-office-based staff to complete the survey. The survey identified issues around work-related stress and workloads, so it is important to have a complete picture, allowing appropriate action plans to be developed and implemented. 5. Renfrewshire Council (published 5 June 2025) 5.1. The report for Renfrewshire Council is positive, with the commission noting areas of strong performance against key indicators, together with prudent financial management and a commitment to a positive working culture. The Commission findings are: The council’s commitment to leadership and creating a positive working culture across all services is to be welcomed. We were interested to see the development of the ‘Cultural Assurance Model’ in partnership with the Improvement Service. We encourage the council to ensure that this self- assessment approach is now bedded in as part of its cycle of continuous improvement, that it continues to focus on addressing the specific improvement areas identified in its staff survey, and that the model is shared with others. 66
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We are pleased to see that the council has responded positively to issues raised by the Controller of Audit in previous reports and welcome the auditors’ approach to highlighting the costs associated with the new primary school in Dargavel and the extension to Park Mains High School, on which we will keep a watching brief. There are good examples of activities that are enabling and supporting community engagement across Renfrewshire. A refreshed approach to consultation and engagement is now in place across the council and although it’s early days, it is clear that the council is working hard to build trust and confidence with all communities across the region. Ensuring openness and transparency with communities will be essential as tough decisions require to be taken and we will expect to see evidence of community engagement flowing through into decision making, policy development and service planning. The council has managed its finances prudently and worked hard over the years to smooth the impact of fluctuating funding settlements. This has included building up reserves which have been used to protect services, balance budgets, and support investment in assets but this is not sustainable over the long term. Increasing demand and costs mean the council is now facing significant financial pressures in areas like health and social care, and Renfrewshire’s Integration Joint Board’s (IJB) reserves are expected to be exhausted by the end of 2025/26. The next phase of the council’s transformation plan – Reshaping Renfrewshire – aligned to its medium-term financial plan, is now central to addressing its growing budget gap (including within the IJB) and reducing its reliance on reserves. We recognise the council’s ambitious and complex capital programme, but the council must address the delivery issues that have affected the programme in previous years. The programme impacts the council’s revenue budget, so delays and slippage come at a cost to investment in service delivery. As well as a comprehensive approach to leadership development, we are pleased to see a programme of member development in place, especially in audit, risk, and scrutiny. All members should be encouraged to undertake training, given the skills needed to navigate an increasingly complex and challenging external environment and to take the tough decisions that lie ahead. We will continue to watch the council’s performance with interest, especially in areas like education where attainment and positive destinations are among the best and its costs per pupil are among the lowest in Scotland. The council’s delayed discharges from hospital (age 75+) and hospital readmission rates are lower than the Scottish and ‘family group’ averages, but difficult decisions are now required within the IJB, given the financial position. It is important that the council continues to monitor the impact of its decisions on service performance and wider outcomes for communities. 6. Next Steps and Recommendations 6.1. Officers of the Council will continue to review the CoA reports as they are published to learn any lessons for the Council. Reports on any significant findings and key messages will be brought to the Forum for information. 67
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7. Employee Implications 7.1. There are no direct employee implications. 8. Financial Implications 8.1. There are no direct financial implications. 9. Climate Change, Sustainability and Environmental Implications 9.1. There are no implications for climate change, sustainability or the environment in terms of the information contained in this report. 10. Other Implications 10.1. Considering the detail of the report and identifying actions as appropriate contribute towards effective risk management. 11. Integrated Impact Assessment and Consultation Requirements 11.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 11.2. There is no requirement for consultation on the content of the report. Paul Manning Chief Executive 16 July 2025 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Ambitious, self-aware and improving Previous References None List of Background Papers None Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Tom Little, Head of Communications and Strategy Ext: 4904 (Tel: 01698 454904) E-mail: Tom.Little@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 68
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum Date of Meeting: 19 August 2025 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Transformational Reviews – Update 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- provide an update on the Transformational Reviews that are part of the Council’s Transformational Change Programme for the year 2025/2026 and beyond 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- (1) that the update on the Transformational Reviews be noted. [1rec 3. Background 3.1. In June 2024, a report titled 2025/2026 to 2027/2028 Revenue Budget Strategy was presented to the Executive Committee. This report highlighted the need for Transformational Change to manage the significant Budget Gaps facing the Council over the next 3 years. The Transformational Change Programme drives continuous improvement as well as efficiencies and feeds into the Budget Strategy to deliver savings for 2025/2026 to 2027/2028. 3.2. Updates to this forum on 4 February 2025, 1 April 2025 and 17 June 2025 detailed the progress of these Cross-Cutting reviews, as well as Resource specific transformational reviews, to identify savings in the year 2026/2027 and beyond. This report provides a further update to these Cross-Cutting reviews (Section 4) and Resource specific reviews (Section 5). 4. Transformational Change Programme: Cross-Cutting Transformational Reviews 4.1. Each review is taken in turn with a summary of their current status. 4.2. Procurement: As noted previously, following the Council’s approval of procured spend savings totalling £0.941 million in the 2025/2026 Budget, this review remains ongoing to ensure the maximum level of efficiencies is delivered and to identify cashable budget savings for 2026/2027. 4.3. An update presented to this Forum on 17 June 2025 noted potential savings of £0.285 million, and that efficiency opportunities continued to be identified in areas such as the supply of boilers. To date, nine opportunities have been identified with the potential to deliver efficiencies totalling £0.371 million. These are included in Table1: 6 69
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Table 1: Procured Spend Review – Identified Savings for 2026/2027 Proposal Savings (£m) Boilers and Radiators 0.016 Postal Services 0.026 Translation Services 0.006 Purchase Card Rebate 0.055 Homeless Property Cleaning 0.090 Housing Property Cleaning and Clearance 0.120 Construction Wallboard 0.022 Nitrile Gloves 0.016 Purchase Card Rebate 0.020 Total 0.371 4.4. In addition, as noted previously, the trial of alternative bin supplies is progressing, with an estimated savings efficiency of £0.060 million. Work will continue throughout Summer/Autumn 2025 to identify further opportunities, and an update will be provided to this Forum on 25 November 2025. 4.5. As reported previously, the Transformation Programme run by SOLACE / Improvement Service includes a workstream for Procurement Collaboration within Local Government targeting Waste, Fleet and Digital. Strategic outline business cases for collaborative procurement were approved by Solace in April 2025, and the Head of Finance (Transactions) has been nominated as the procurement contact to participate in the pilots when they begin in Summer 2025. 4.6. In–house and Procured Services: The review of the costs of in-house service provision compared to the cost of procuring these same services from external marketplace continues. 4.7. Under the scope of the review, approximately seventy contracts were initially identified, each with a total annual value exceeding £0.250 million and which were expected to come to an end within the calendar years 2025 to 2027. Resources completed an initial review of this expenditure with suppliers, including contract terms as well as factors within the Resource/Service such as capacity and capability to deliver the service(s) in–house, and provided a Red, Amber Green (RAG) assessment of which contracts should be considered further for delivering in-house. In total, twenty- seven contracts were assigned Green or Amber status, which meant that they should be further considered by Resources. A summary of these areas of spend is included in Appendix 1. 4.8. In considering these areas of spend, a number of these contracts have been identified as providing best value for the Council. It has also been identified that in some cases, these contracts work alongside services being provided in-house, and while some contracts are in place, they are a backup in case in-house services cannot manage short term peaks in demand. Work remains ongoing to finalise high-level costing information for all the Green or Amber areas, as well as information on performance and Service resources to ensure that best value is being delivered, and to identify alternative approaches where appropriate. A report will be presented to the next meeting of this Forum on 25 November 2025. 70
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4.9. Fleet: An update report was presented to this Forum on 17 June 2025 which provided information on the Council’s vehicle estate, the progress of the vehicle replacement programme and the Resource demands for fleet. 4.10. The transformational review of Fleet notes that real progress has been made in returning the Council fleet to pre-COVID levels, and work continues through 2025/2026 on a review of the Fleet Strategy which will include a review of key strategic outcomes. The annual Fleet Asset Management Plan will be prepared and published in parallel. 4.11. In addition, the report noted that the Vehicle Replacement Programme is moving forward with a focussed approach to make greater use of information including updated telemetry data, which will be provided to Resources to allow them to further understand how efficiently existing vehicles are being used. 4.12. Work continues with regards to determining optimal lease periods, reviewing electric vehicles in the context of sustainability and a move to net zero, and a review of pool car usage and rates. Updates on these workstreams will be presented to the Forum as they become available. 4.13. Finally, work is continuing to identify any fleet implications and savings within the wider programme of Transformational Reviews, with any updates reported through individual reviews as and when available. 4.14. Organisational and Management Structures: This review aims to ensure the correct balance between management and the staff they oversee and refers to the Organisational Structure Models which were agreed and implemented formally in 2009/2010 and considers how closely aligned the current structures are to the agreed preferred operating models (POM). The first phase of the Organisational Structure Review identified savings of £1.000 million, totalling 16.85 FTE, which were implemented from April 2025. 4.15. Under Phase 2 of the review, Services and Resources continue to review management and supervisory structures in order to align to the current POM and generate organisational benefits of enhancing efficiency, consistency, and capacity across Council services, and identify savings for 2026/2027 and 2027/2028. In addition, a benchmarking exercise has been conducted to gather information from other councils regarding their preferred operating models. This data has influenced further efficiency recommendations regarding POM ratios. 4.16. An update will be presented to the next meeting of this Forum on 25 November 2025. 4.17. Overtime: This review of overtime practices and spend looks to reduce expenditure and remove/reduce associated risks to employees. This includes a focus on looking to reduce the need for overtime though recruitment, and also consideration of ‘out of hours service’ requirements. 71
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4.18. Resource Overtime Action Plans have been created, and in order to support the delivery of these plans, overtime information packs are circulated to Resources on a four-weekly basis. Personnel’s Business Managers are engaging in management team meetings and directly with Heads of Service to support a consistent approach across all Resources, taking account of the data and actions that had been agreed for the ongoing Overtime Review including the reasons for overtime, and where Resources have considered changes in working practice to reduce overtime. 4.19. Agreed Actions target areas such as ensuring regular and recurring recruitment activity, the distribution of adverts to key organisations and compliance with the Maximising Attendance Policy. Alongside these general actions across all Resources, actions specifically tailored to each Resource’s unique makeup and requirements are also being implemented. 4.20. An update will be presented to the next meeting of this Forum on 25 November 2025. 4.21. Depot Rationalisation: While this is a standalone Review, it will dovetail into the Long-Term Estate Strategy Review. Full running costs are being finalised for each baseline property, and these are being combined with the property costs determined through the work on the Estates Strategy to provide a complete picture for each property. This work is expected to conclude by late Summer 2025. 4.22. An update on this work will be presented to this Forum on 25 November 2025. 4.23. Cross-Cutting – Separate Update Reports: Standalone reports on the following reviews are included on the agenda for this meeting of the Forum, and will give a fuller update on the progress of the reviews:- Digital Transformation Customer Engagement 5. Transformational Change Programme: Resource Specific Reviews 5.1. Each review is taken in turn with a summary of their current status. 5.2. Third Sector Review: This partnership Review takes forward discussions between South Lanarkshire Council and the local Third Sector which seek to improve the relationship between the two, how it operates and build on the Council motion on the Keeping the Beat Alive initiative and the Fair Funding Charter. 5.3. Workshops and events have taken place across Spring/Summer 2025, with each of the three workshops concentrating on a different theme of the review: Strategic Engagement, Fair Funding and Commissioning. Outputs from these workshops will inform a Third Sector Partnership Agreement and a Grants Policy for the Council. 5.4. An initial impact assessment and drafts of the agreement and grants policy are being prepared, and a final report will be presented to the Executive Committee on 24 September 2025. 5.5. Factoring: A full review of the Factoring Service has been undertaken by Housing and Technical Resources to owners of former Council Housing Stock. At present this service provides a repairs and maintenance service to owners. It is delivered to 1,874 mixed tenure blocks and 329 wholly owned blocks comprising of 8,481 owners and 5,303 Council properties within East Kilbride, Rutherglen and Cambuslang, Hamilton localities. 72
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5.6. The review was supported by APSE Solutions, who were commissioned to inform the future direction and culture of the Factoring Services function, and options for a future service delivery model which is going to deliver a high-quality effective service. Consideration was given to resourcing levels, staff development, and to ensuring processes are effective and efficient. The findings of this work are being consolidated, and a presentation will be brought to the relevant Committee for approval. A further update will be presented to this Forum on 25 November 2025 for information. 5.7. Long Term Estate Strategy: As reported previously, this review looks to promote a strategic and outcome focussed methodology to Asset Management, resulting in a 10- year Estate Strategy that will:- effectively support public service delivery in the future and helps us to deliver people and place-based objectives explore opportunities to work collaboratively with other public sector bodies inform and guide future land/property decisions on the investment, rationalisation, co-location, and disposal of assets direct investment into a reduced, but higher quality and energy efficient core estate facilitate the transition to net zero for our smaller, higher quality estate promote community asset transfer where this is appropriate help manage the financial pressures facing the Council and South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture (SLLC) 5.8. Estate development is split into three inter-related phases, where Phase One comprises an initial data review, and the development of a clear assessment criteria which will output an initial scoring of all properties within the estate. Phase Two utilises the data gathered in phase one and explores and identifies potential funding sources that could fund aspects of delivery, alongside alignment with internal capital budgets. It will create a prioritised real estate/project pipeline against each potential funding source, based on availability and achievability. Phase Three comprises the development of the Estate Strategy and an associated 10-year Delivery plan, which will aim to address the requirements discussed above. 5.9. An update on this review was presented to the Executive Committee on 25 June 2025. It is intended that a final report on the proposed 10-year Estate will be presented to Executive Committee in November 2025. 5.10. South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture (SLLC) Commissioning Plan: This review addresses the need for clarity in terms of the relationship between the Council and SLLC, and its role as a provider of services to the Council. This need for clarity has been further exacerbated in recent years given the financial challenges faced by both the Council and SLLC, and it is, therefore, vital that consideration is given to a longer- term, more sustainable approach to how the Council and SLLC work together. 5.11. A progress update was presented to the Executive Committee on 12 March 2025 and the draft commissioning plan can be viewed here. A further update was presented to the Executive Committee on 25 June 2025. 73
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5.12. Following approval of the Commissioning Plan for South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture SCIO (2025 to 2027) by the Executive Committee on 25 June 2025, officers will now undertake an exercise to review, update and streamline the legal documentation that underpins the Council and SLLC relationship. A detailed performance framework for the approved Plan will then be developed and this will be presented to a subsequent Executive Committee for approval. 5.13. Planning and Regulatory – Online Service Delivery, Digital Delivery and Consideration of Other Models: This review considers the delivery of services and the methods in which stakeholders engage with the Planning and Regulatory Service. Areas of work that are subject to review include:- review use of IT and Digital Packages staff resources introduction of new Fees and Commercialisation annual increase in the Statutory Fees for Planning and Building Applications 5.14. With regards to IT and Digital, an improved use of spatial data systems has been progressed with appropriate Licenses purchased to facilitate access to the Council’s data, reducing the need to go through agencies to access our own data. 5.15. Through the Staff Resources workstream, efficiencies will be realised through the effective alignment of posts and funding while ensuring that the delivery of statutory services will continue. 5.16. The review will identify potential savings for 2026/2027 from the annual increase in fees and the introduction of discretionary charges. By considering enhanced fees and commercialisation activities as part of the Planning and Building Standards function, it is intended to that additional savings can be realised. 5.17. Updates will be presented to the Planning Committee, and then to this Forum for information on 25 November 2025. 5.18. Property Services – Efficiencies and Income Generation: An update report was presented to this Forum on 17 June 2025 which provided information in relation to identifying areas of efficiencies and income opportunities across Assets and Estates, Consultancy Services and Building Services. The report included the Terms of Reference, detailing the scope of the review, which covers staffing structure, running costs, performance, fleet assessment, depot locations and renewable technology. 5.19. The review is ongoing, with phase two of the Property Services review of organisational and management structures working to align the Service to the Preferred Operating Model. In addition, work continues with Fleet Services to ensure the correct sizing of the Service’s fleet requirements and training is ongoing to expand the skills of Building Services staff for additional renewables projects. An update will be presented to the next meeting of this Forum on 25 November 2025. 6. Employee Implications 6.1. There are no direct employee implications from this report. 74
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7. Financial Implications 7.1. The financial implications are summarised within the report. 8. Other Implications 8.1. The main risk associated with the Council’s Revenue Budget is that there is an overspend. The risk has been assessed as low given the detailed budget management applied across the Resources. The risk is managed through four weekly Budget Monitoring Meetings at which any variance is analysed. In addition, the probable outturn exercise ensures early warning for corrective action to be taken where appropriate. 8.2. The main risk associated with the Council’s Capital Programme is that there is an overspend. The risk has been assessed as low given the detailed project management plans prepared and monitored for each project. The risk of an overspend is managed through four weekly Investment Management Meetings. 8.3. There are no implications for sustainability in terms of the information contained in this report. 9. Integrated Impact Assessment and Consultation Requirements 9.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required. 9.2. There is also no requirement to undertake any consultation in terms of the information contained in the report. Jackie Taylor Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 18 July 2025 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, Effective, Efficient and Transparent Previous References Executive Committee, 26 June 2024 Cross-Cutting Reviews – Update - Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum 27 August 2024 Transformational Reviews – Cross-Cutting – Update - Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum 19 November Transformational Reviews - Update - Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum 4 February 2025 Transformational Reviews – Update - Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum 1 April 2025 Transformational Reviews – Update - Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum 17 June 2025 75
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List of Background Papers 2025/2026 to 2027/2028 Revenue Budget Strategy Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact: Lorraine O'Hagan, Head of Finance (Strategy) Ext: 2601 (Tel: 01698 452601) lorraine.o'hagan@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 76
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APPENDIX 1 Areas of Spend for Further Consideration Community and Enterprise Resources Roads – Projects and Frameworks Education Resources Taxis Education Services Procured Service Arrangement Finance and Corporate Resources End User Computing and Device Management Housing and Technical Resources Building Maintenance Service (including Fabric Works, Fencing and Kitchen Installation) Building Materials and Equipment (including Refurbishment Works and Removal of Asbestos) Accommodation and Property – Cleaning Environmental Services – Cleaning and Pest Control Electrical and Street Lighting Security and Safety Equipment inc. Fixed Electrical Testing Scaffolding Demolition Works Electromagnetic repairs to Non-Housing General Service Properties First Stop Supported Accommodation Social Work Resources Daycare Provision Care at Home Adult Residential Care for Adults with High Complex Needs Care at Home Secure Care Services Social Care Adaptions 77
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum Date of Meeting: 19 August 2025 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Digital Transformation – Update Report 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- provide the Forum with an update report on the Digital Transformation Review for consideration 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Forum is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- [recs] (1) that the Digital Transformation Review update be noted. 3. Background 3.1. Digital Transformation covers a broad spectrum of activity, and a coordinated programme is required to ensure resources are suitably deployed to priority projects across Resources to deliver maximum efficiency returns. 3.2. Changes to individual business processes can deliver efficiency and financial savings but only at small incremental levels while opportunities for larger scale change, at team, service or resource level provide more significant benefits, both tangible and intangible but at more risk. 3.3. The Terms of Reference for this review was previously reported to the Forum on 19 November 2024 . This can be found here. A further update was provided in June 2025. 3.4. The Terms of Reference defines the three key areas of focus: Business Systems and Processes: projects and improvements to key corporate and line of business applications Workforce Productivity: focus on enabling and empowering staff to maximise their effectiveness and digital literacy Customer Engagement: clear and consistent Council-wide customer engagement 3.5. The review will cover a range of activities across Resources primarily aimed at supporting Resources to achieve service delivery efficiencies. 4. Progress 4.1. Action Planning – an action plan has been developed to provide a structure for the ongoing transformation programme. The plan details work across several related streams to ensure that work is progressed in parallel where feasible. The latest plan update is provided in Appendix 1. 7 79
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Key actions and progress to highlight since the last update include: Website Enhancement – updating the website content, design standards and underlying technology is a key activity to support the Digital Transformation ambitions of the Council, both for static content, but also to support the output of the Customer Engagement Review and the customer transaction side of the website. Governance arrangements and project scope for this project are now in place. Work is now underway on high level timeline for change. The high-level plan will be ready for the end of August 2025. Copilot Accelerator – This approach to accelerate adoption and evaluation of the Microsoft Copilot is in final review before launching August. This will look to build a model to rapidly deploy the capability to small cohorts across the Council, suggest use cases and scenarios to use the tool for, put in place a peer support model and enable feedback capture to allow identification of benefits. 4.2. Governance – the Programme review board has now been constituted and is actively overseeing the programme. A key tenet of the Review Board is to ‘Live the Message’. This encourages members to use the technology and approaches the programme will be developing and implementing. 4.3. Resourcing – the Digital Transformation team has been established within the IT Service with a range of expertise and skills including Project Management, web technologies business change and training, Microsoft 365, and Infrastructure and End- User Devices. 4.4. Skills - work on the skills gap analysis continues with a key input from current work feeding into the assessment. These other threads, around process modelling and the Customer Engagement Review have been invaluable to the skills analysis. 4.5. Engage Process Modeller – this is a tool to visually and quickly model business processes including capturing and demonstrating cost and time benefits of change. Work is now underway, in conjunction with the Customer Engagement Review to look at the most appropriate model for wider rollout and building self-sufficiency across Resources. It is expected that the approach will be agreed and able to be reported to the next meeting of the Forum. 4.6. Vision – developing a digital vision is seen as a key part of this programme and, as such, a review of the Digital Strategy 2022 to 2027 will be undertaken. The approach to information gathering and consultation is currently going through review by the Digital Transformation team and will be presented to the Review Board in August 2025. The approach is expected to provide opportunity for Resources, Elected Members, partner organisations and residents to input into the new Digital Strategy commencing through Q3 and Q4 of 2025/2026. 4.7. Data Quality – following discussions with the Scottish Government and a positive review from Argyle and Bute Council, the Council has applied, and been accepted, on to Cohort 6 of the Scottish Government Data Maturity Programme. This will commence after summer and the South Lanarkshire Council representatives have now been onboarded. 80
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4.8. Capability Mapping – this is an approach taken from work done previously by the Digital Office on capturing and mapping technical and business capabilities to drive up re-use of existing technology and reduce procurement or building of niche solutions. This is progressing well and the master application catalogue is now complete. The work to assess and then map the capabilities is well progressed. 4.9. Benefits Tracking – the development of an approach to identifying and tracking benefits is now underway and will be brought back to a future meeting of the Forum. The aim here is to ensure both cashable and non-cashable benefits are identified, tracked and realised through the programme. 5. Employee Implications 5.1. There are no direct employee implications at this stage, however, individual transformation projects will have to consider employee implications for that area. 6. Financial Implications 6.1. The review is expected to support delivery of efficiencies from across Resources. 6.2. The costs associated with any investment in new digital technologies or systems are expected to form part of a future business case proposal. 7. Other Implications 7.1. None 8. Integrated Impact Assessment and Consultation Requirements 8.1. Integrated Impact Assessments and Consultations will be undertaken as part of individual transformation project activity as required. Jackie Taylor Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 17 June 2025 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes All council objectives Previous References Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum of 19 November 2024 Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum of 17 June 2025 List of Background Papers None Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Murray Husband, Head of IT Services Ext: 5648 (Tel: 01698 455648) E-mail: murray.husband@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 81
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Appendix 1 – High Level Action Plan Bucket Name Task Name Description Update Vision and Strategy Development Development of Capability Map Using the current Digital Office capability list develop a mapping of capability to key applications deployed in the organisation to allow rapid identification of existing capabilities to support transformation. Completed (June 25) Vision and Strategy Development Assessment of Current State Evaluate current technological infrastructure, digital capabilities, and services Completed (June 25) Vision and Strategy Development Digital Maturity Assessment Assessment of Digital Maturity using Digital Office self-assessment tool to underpin development of prioritised workplan. Change of approach due to delay in Digital Office tool. Evaluating Gartner ITScore tool. – due Q2 25/26 Stream: Review Support Planning and Regulatory review Engagement with service review to identify opportunities to influence and support the delivery of benefits through digital transformation. Not yet engaged. Timeline to be confirmed but expected through Q3 25/26. Stream: Review Support Strategic Property Review Engagement with service review to identify opportunities to influence and support the delivery of benefits through digital transformation. Engaged fully with review and providing input and information on current digital provision and potential opportunities. Stream: Review Support Customer Engagement Engagement with service review to identify opportunities to influence and support the delivery of benefits through digital transformation. Engaged fully with review providing key input and influence to the programme, including cross over with this programme and potential cross benefits. Planning on website enhancement is underway to support this review. Timeline and action plan for this activity will be ready for the end of August 2025. 82
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Stream: Innovation & Pipeline Triple Value Impact - Consider workshop Working with Tim Pitts from TVI develop approach and business case for initial workshop. Currently underway – Initial workshop scheduled for September 25 Programme Governance Sustainability Benefits as part of wider benefits tracking Develop approach to benefits identification and tracking around sustainability benefits. Benefits tracking forms a key element of the Engage Process Modeller (section 4.5) Programme Governance Schedule Governance meetings Develop approach to governance and put in place PRB schedule. PRB Completed (June 25). Website PRB due to commence in July 25. Programme Governance Look at MS Decisions for Running Meetings Leveraging the ‘Live the message’ approach to the programme, look at using MS Decisions to help support meeting admin. Not yet started. Expected through Q3 25/26. Programme Governance Business Change Management Implement change management strategies to help staff adapt to new technologies and workflows. Completed (June 25) Programme Governance Resource Allocation Allocate human, financial, and technical resources required for the transformation. Underway with the Digital Transformation team being a key element. Financial elements still to be addressed. Due Q2 25/26 Programme Governance Stakeholder Engagement - Feedback Mechanisms Establish channels for stakeholders to provide input and feedback on digital transformation efforts. Not yet started. Will be picked up by Business Change resource. Q2 25/26 Programme Governance Stakeholder Engagement - Communication Plan Create a plan to regularly update stakeholders on transformation progress and involve them in the process. Not yet started. Will be picked up by Business Change resource. Q2 25/26 Programme Governance Stakeholder Engagement - Identification Determine internal and external stakeholders such as government employees, citizens, and businesses. Not yet started. Will be picked up by Business Change resource. Q2 25/26 Programme Governance Develop Process Modeller operating model Develop the approach to using the tool that is consistent, easily adopted and allows quick identification and capture of benefits. Underway as detailed in Section 4.5. Programme Governance Procure Engage Process Modeller Work with Procurement to identify correct route to procure the tool. Complete (March 25) 83
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Programme Governance Develop Consultancy Scope of Works Identify potential need for consultancy support for the programme and develop scope of works. Underway – due Q2 25/26 Programme Governance Develop Structure Develop review governance structure of PRB and PSG including membership Complete (March 25) Key Area: Productivity M365 Skills Hub This is a national resource for business and technology skills develop for M365. Static course and live training are planned Technical element complete. Business Change element yet to be started. Due Q2 25/26 Key Area: Productivity Digital Champions Network This is a national community of interest for individuals in Councils who either are or have ambition to be Digital Champions within their organisation. Champions have been evidenced at several Councils as being key to the adoption of digital practices. Not yet started. Date not yet scheduled. Key Area: Productivity Sign up for National Power Community This is a national community of interest aim initially at IT but planned to expand to include business change agents using the Microsoft Power Platform Complete (March 25) Key Area: Productivity Review Corporate Reporting position Assess current corporate reporting approach, strategy and technology, including examples of good practice. Not yet started. Will form key thread within data work scheduled for Q3 25/26 Key Area: Productivity Review Document Management position Assess current corporate document management and records management approach and technology, including examples of good practice. Not yet started. Will form key thread within data work scheduled for Q3 25/26 84
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Key Area: Productivity Develop Copilot PoV Business Case There are a number of barriers to overcome to successfully and safely exploit the technology. Following several in-depth discussions with the Digital Office, other Council’s and suppliers it is proposed that a Proof of Value (PoV) project be developed This would coincide with an aggregated spend proposal for MS Copilot being developed by Crown Commercial Services (CCS). The opportunity for joint working with the Digital Office, Improvement Service and other Councils will be explored as part of the PoV. This PoV project will explore the benefits of Copilot, with success metrics including reductions in administrative processing time and improvements in report accuracy and officer time to prepare. Development of Accelerator project underway. Due August 25 (section 4.1) Key Area: Productivity Consider Hybrid Working Policy (when released) Assess opportunities and implications for transformation resulting from the new policy, once guidance is formalised. Due to commence Q2 25/26 Key Area: Customer Engagement Proof of Value business case for Customer Contact Linked to Customer Engagement Review Aligned to Review, awaiting output. Key Area: Business Systems & Process Develop Application Catalog Master catalog of applications required to feed capability map Completed (June 25) Key Area: Business Systems & Process Fusion Project Review/Lessons Learned Project reviews and lessons learned will be held within a reasonable timeframe following go-live of major system upgrades, with a focus on moving to the next stage of exploiting the new systems and leveraging the investment in them. Lessons learned templates being refreshed and workshop(s) will be scheduled for Q2 and Q3 25/26. 85
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Key Area: Business Systems & Process Develop Engage Process Modeller business case following a successful demonstration and trial of the product we are now working with Procurement on the commercials around the product. The current proposal is for a 3-year contract which includes a 5% Scottish Local Government discount as agreed with the Digital Office. This would give unlimited users (the lower price point would be for 20 users) and include consulting, onboarding and training in year one. The total contract value would be £95,470 (£29,750 per year, plus £4,320 onboarding and training costs). Complete (March 25). Procurement and deployment completed. Enabling: Skills & Workforce Digital Service Design Adoption and promotion of the [Scottish Approach to Service Design](https://www.gov.scot/publications/the- scottish-approach-to-service-design/) Not yet started but will likely link to output of Customer Engagement Review Enabling: Skills & Workforce Workforce Planning Develop a skills framework to support staff development, Learning & Development and recruitment. Underway as per Section 4.4 Enabling: Data Data Maturity Assessment Explore benefits and opportunities for undertaking data maturity assessment Complete. Now accepted on to Scottish Government Cohort 6. Enabling: Data Smart Data Foundry Details have yet to be shared but Smart Data Foundry helped East Renfrewshire Council develop a ground-breaking Cost of Living dashboard and the DO are hoping to get full funding for targeted engagements for Councils. Not yet started pending more information from Digital Office. Enabling: Data Data Strategy Development Assess the need for a Data Strategy and undertake appropriate actions to develop and publish. Not yet started. Dependant on to Scottish Government Cohort 6. 86
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Enabling: Data Information Asset Registers / Data Catalog Assess the current position on registers and catalogues with a view to developing a future approach to support transformation. Not yet started. Timeline to be confirmed but expected through Q3 and Q4 25/26. Enabling: Data Agree membership & Agenda Develop draft membership proposal and agendas for group. Not yet started. Timeline to be confirmed but expected through Q3 and Q4 25/26. Enabling: Data Data Quality Group ToR Develop draft Terms of Reference for any data group. Not yet started. Timeline to be confirmed but expected through Q3 and Q4 25/26. Enabling: AI Data Policy Group Assess the need for a separate group to develop or oversee data policy. Not yet started. Timeline to be confirmed but expected through Q3 and Q4 25/26. Enabling: AI Arrange Members Session Q4 Artificial Intelligence and the Council. It was agreed that a members’ session be arranged in the New Year to provide more detail and include Personnel Services for human resources and local government aspects. Complete Enabling: AI Develop AI Strategy/Policy Assess the need and approach to an AI strategy or policy to underpin the evaluation, implementation and use of AI within the Council. Underway nationally via Digital Office. Due Q3 25/26. 87
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Report Agenda Item Report to: Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum Date of Meeting: 19 August 2025 Report by: Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) Subject: Customer Engagement Transformational Review – Update 1. Purpose of Report 1.1. The purpose of the report is to:- [purpose] provide an update to the Forum on the Customer Engagement transformational review [1purpose] 2. Recommendation(s) 2.1. The Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum is asked to approve the following recommendation(s):- (1) that the update on the Customer Engagement transformational review be noted. [1recs] 3. Background 3.1. The terms of reference was presented to this Forum on 19 November 2024. This provided the Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum with the issues across customer services, the expected outcomes from the review and the scope. 3.2. A progress update was provided on 17 June 2025 across a number of review activities including the SWOT analysis, process reviews and workshops, customer surveys, review of Customer Facing ICT systems and the review of the website. 3.3. This report will provide a further update on the main areas of review activity. 4. Update 4.1. Process Review and Workshops: The review of key processes involves the completion of an exercise to map the ‘As is’ with a second stage involving the design of the ‘To Be’. This has been completed for 6 processes with additional workshops underway for Disabled Parking and Change of Address. 4.2. For each process the ‘To Be’ identifies a range of actions that can improve the process for the customer and for the service. Work is now underway with Resources to review these actions. 4.3. Importantly, the findings will be used to shape the Customer Experience Strategy and the supporting business case. For example, the findings may point to large scale solutions that could benefit many Resource processes. 8 89
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4.4. Local Authority Engagement: Twenty of the Scottish Local Authorities completed a survey regarding their approach to customer contact. The Customer Services team are identifying where more detailed discussions would be helpful to gain an insight of new technologies that are being used with direct approaches then being made to theses councils. 4.5. As previously reported, discussions are taking place with one local authority that uses a conversational chatbot on their home page of their website. This chatbot provides a mechanism for customers to report an issue, for example graffiti or a missed bin collection, and has helped reduce the volume of calls received. Work is underway to scope how this kind of technology could be offered to customers and is considering the customer benefits, resourcing implications, technology considerations, potential drawbacks and costs. 4.6. Customer Surveys: Customer Surveys: The customer surveys went live on Monday 16 June. By mid-July, 864 links to the phone survey have been issued with a 58% completion rate by customers, and with 1,250 returns from on the Council’s online survey. The results of the survey will be used to inform the provision of services and the development of the Customer Services strategy. 4.7. Systems Development: Projects delivering the new systems in Housing, Community and Enterprise, and Social Work Resources continue and are expected to deliver improvements in customer engagement. Work is ongoing with the Resources to scope out the expected benefits in terms of improved processes and customer experience and potential efficiencies. This work is expected to continue into 2026. 4.8. Assessment of the Maturity of the Model: The Gartner Digital Customer Experience Maturity Assessment aims to identify areas for improvement to enhance the Council’s customer digital experience. We have completed the information gathering and initial assessment. Each department representative filled out an evaluation questionnaire, followed by a consultation with a Gartner analyst. The results from this review will contribute to our overall plan to improve customer engagement through targeted activities and further insights from Gartner, a leading global technology advisory firm. 4.9. Review of the Capabilities and Limitations of Customer Facing ICT Systems Including - Customer Relationship (CRM) and Website: IT Services have finished the first phase of creating a detailed catalogue that lists all the technology applications and solutions used across the Council. This catalogue will help us understand what our technology can and cannot do. We have made good progress on the second phase, which focuses on assessing the capabilities of customer- facing applications. This assessment will be used when work to identify technology requirements for change takes place. 4.10. In summary, out of 221 currently captured active applications with a further 7 in implementation, 77 hold personal identifiable information (which is of relevance to Customer Engagement). With regards capabilities, the key ones relevant to Customer Engagement show that 8 applications provide web portal capability, 4 support workflow and 3 can manage payments. 90
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4.11. Engagement with Resource Management Teams (RMT): Three meetings with Resource Senior Management teams have taken place to give an overview of the process review work completed to date for each Resource, discuss the opportunities for improved customer engagement expected from Resource based systems development and potential new corporate solutions and to have a discussion around the key features of a Customer Engagement Strategy for the Council. 4.12. The information presented has been well received. Resource feedback has been supportive of the proposed principles for the Customer Experience Strategy. Capacity for change and the potential to realise cashable savings have been discussion points which will require further consideration as the project develops. The two remaining RMT meetings are scheduled. 4.13. Review of Website Content: As previously reported, there are strong links between website content and the look and feel of the website and the technology that underpins it. A separate review group is in the process of being convened by the Head of IT Services to take this forward with representation from Resources, Customer Services and the Digital Team with a view to finalising the scoping work and high-level plan by the end of August. 4.14. Strategic Positioning of Customer Services: The organisational structure used to deliver customer services across the Council is being assessed. This will consider opportunities for ways to improve customer service, resilience and the delivery of efficiencies. As previously reported, this activity will also support the development of a Customer Engagement Strategy for the Council. 5. Next steps 5.1. The working group are continuing to progress the action plan for the review. 6. Employee Implications 6.1. A working group has been set up comprising representatives from Finance (Transactions), IT Services, Housing and Technical Resources, Community and Enterprise Resources, Education Resources and Social Work Resources. A representative from the Trade Unions has also been invited to participate. The working group meet every 3 weeks. 6.2. There are no direct employee implications identified at this stage of the review process. 7. Financial Implications 7.1. The review is expected to deliver efficiencies from across Resources because of improvements expected to be made to customer contact processes and systems across the Council. 7.2. The costs associated with any investment in new digital technologies or systems are expected to form part of a future business case proposal. 8. Other Implications 8.1. A risk register has been developed for the review and will be updated as required for the duration of the review activity. 91
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9. Integrated Impact Assessment and Consultation Requirements 9.1. This report does not introduce a new policy, function or strategy or recommend a change to an existing policy, function or strategy and, therefore, no impact assessment is required at present. 9.2. The development of a new Customer Engagement Strategy will require consultation with a range of stakeholders and will form a key activity in the project plan. Jackie Taylor Executive Director (Finance and Corporate Resources) 23 July 2025 Link(s) to Council Values/Priorities/Outcomes Accountable, effective, efficient and transparent Ambitious, self-aware and improving Previous References Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum of 19 November 2024 Performance and Review Scrutiny Forum of 17 June 2025 List of Background Papers Focused on people and their needs Contact for Further Information If you would like to inspect the background papers or want further information, please contact:- Craig Fergusson, Head of Finance (Transactions) Ext: 4951 (Tel: 01698 454951) E-mail: craig.fergusson@southlanarkshire.gov.uk 92