Local Government Benchmarking Framework (Lgbf): 2023/24
Argyll and Bute Council · 12 June 2025
Back to Audit and Scrutiny Committee — 12 June 2025 and its agenda
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL AUDIT AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE CUSTOMER SUPPORT SERVICES 12 JUNE 2025 LOCAL GOVERNMENT BENCHMARKING FRAMEWORK (LGBF): 2023/24 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 This report provides a high-level summary of Argyll and Bute’s performance as reported in the Local Government Benchmarking Framework data. 2.0 RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that the Audit and Scrutiny Committee: 2.1 Considers the contents of this report and notes the trend of net improvement across the council’s functions.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL AUDIT AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE CUSTOMER SUPPORT SERVICES 12 JUNE 2025 LOCAL GOVERNMENT BENCHMARKING FRAMEWORK (LGBF): 2023/24 3.0 DETAIL 3.1 All Scottish Councils engage with the Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF), which is managed by the Improvement Service. The purpose of the LGBF is to enable local authorities to improve their performance through benchmarking and the sharing of good practice. The Accounts Commission noted in their recent Best Value report the council’s intention to use LGBF indicators in our self-assessment activity. This is being picked up as part of the ongoing Performance Excellence Project. In addition, the use of the LGBF in the context of our newly agreed corporate plan was discussed at the Chief Officer’s group on 29th April. Further sessions have been agreed with Heads of Service to identify relevant Key Performance Indicators (including those relevant indicators from the LGBF) that will support the Council to monitor progress against the priorities set out in the Corporate Plan. 3.2 In an effort to produce more timely data, the Improvement Service made changes to its publication schedule last year. Six indicators are now being updated monthly. However, for the purposes of this report, data for the most recent full years for which data are available are used, with comparisons being made with previous years. 3.3 The number of indicators within the LGBF has grown over time from 55 in 2010/11 to the current 108 (see Appendix 1). The breadth of areas covered by the indicators has also expanded over time and currently covers the following service areas. • Corporate services • Social Work services • Culture and Leisure • Environmental Services • Housing Services (Argyll and Bute does not submit any data in this area) • Corporate Assets / Property • Economic Development • Financial Sustainability • Tackling Climate Change It is worth noting that these ‘service areas’ have been identified by the Improvement Service and do not match directly to Services within the council’s organisational structure.
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3.4 The geography and demography of our area impact on indicators in a variety of ways. For some indicators, we recognise we cannot improve our performance relative to other councils (for example the cost of providing pre-school, primary, and secondary education per pupil, and indicators relating to roads conditions, where we consistently perform toward the bottom of the fourth quartile) 3.5 Despite the caveats around our population profile and geography, the proportion of indicators in the bottom performance quartile has been decreasing over time. 3.6 Figures 1 and 2 show an overall pattern of relative improvement in recent years. 3.7 The data needs to be treated with a degree of caution as it does not show continuous improvement by individual indicators. Performance of a single indicator may fluctuate from year to year; also, the number of indicators reported varies from year to year. Rather, the figures show the percentage of indicators within each performance quartile to give a high-level overview of the council’s performance relative to other local authorities. This profile of indicators has shifted to suggest a pattern of relative improvement. Where performance falls within the quartiles 1 and 2, performance is above the Scottish average. 3.8 In the last year, 60% of indicators for Argyll and Bute were in quartiles 1 and 2 (25% in quartile one, and 35% in quartile two). Figure 1: Performance by quartile (2022/23 and 2023/24). Figure 2: Percentage of indicators in each LGBF performance quartile over recent years.
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3.9 A comparison of the data for the years 2022/23 and 2023/24 shows that, for the 99 indicators for which comparison can be made: • 23 indicators moved to a higher quartile, suggesting improved relative performance. (This compares to 34 moving to a higher quartile reported last year) • 65 indicators stayed within the same quartile (this compares to 34 reported last year) • 11 indicators moved to a lower quartile, suggesting worsening relative performance (this compares to 29 reported last year) • 3 indicators moved out of quartile four, compared to 4 moving in. 16 indicators were in quartile four for both the latest and the previous year. These include the previously mentioned indicators relating to cost of pre- school, primary and secondary education per pupil and roads conditions 3.10 For further information about how councils are collectively performing across Scotland, and how challenges facing local authorities have impacted on performance, see the National Benchmarking Overview Report 2023-24 3.11 For further information about performance for individual indicators and comparisons with our ‘family groups’ of councils, see the Improvement Service’s Local Government Benchmarking Framework Dashboard. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 2016/17 2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 Percentage of indicators in each quartile Year Indicators in each LGBF performance quartile over time: Argyll and Bute Quartile 1 Quartile 2 Quartile 3 Quartile 4
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3.12 As part of the Performance Excellence Project, we are continuing to engage with managers to understand how they currently use the LGBF and to encourage more effective use in the future. 4.0 CONCLUSION 4.1 This report has outlined our performance position relative to other Scottish local authorities as revealed by the Local Government Benchmarking Framework data. Overall, the picture is a positive one, suggesting net overall improvements in performance. 4.2 Work to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of how we use the Local Government Benchmarking Framework data as part of our wider benchmarking activity will continue as part of the Performance Excellence Project. 5.0 IMPLICATIONS 5.1 Policy: none arising directly from this report. 5.2 Financial: none arising directly from this report. 5.3 Legal: none arising directly from this report. 5.4 HR: none arising directly from this report. 5.5 Customer Service: none arising directly from this report. 5.6 Risk: none arising directly from this report. 5.7 Climate Change: none arising directly from this report. 5.8 Fairer Scotland Duty: none arising from this report. An IIA is not required for performance reporting. 5.9 Equalities: none arising from this report. An IIA is not required for performance reporting. 5.10 Consumer Duty: none arising from this report. An IIA is not required for performance reporting. 5.11 Island Communities: none arising from this report. An IIA is not required for performance reporting.
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5.12 Children’s Rights and Wellbeing: none arising from this report. An IIA is not required for performance reporting. Kirsty Flanagan Executive Director with responsibility for Customer Support Services Policy Lead: Councillor Mark Irvine 16 May 2025 For further information contact: Jane Fowler, Head of Customer Support Services, jane.fowler@argyll-bute.gov.uk Chris Carr, OD Project Officer, chris.carr@argyll-bute.gov.uk APPENDICES Appendix 1: List of Local Government Benchmarking Framework indicators
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Appendix 1: List of Local Government Benchmarking Framework indicators Indicator Code Indicator Title Service Area C&L01 Cost per attendance at Sports facilities Culture & Leisure Services C&L02 Cost per Library Visit Culture & Leisure Services C&L03 Cost per Museum Visit Culture & Leisure Services C&L04 Cost of Parks & Open Spaces per 1,000 Population Culture & Leisure Services C&L05a Proportion of adults satisfied with libraries Culture & Leisure Services C&L05b Proportion of adults satisfied with parks and open spaces Culture & Leisure Services C&L05c Proportion of adults satisfied with museums and galleries Culture & Leisure Services C&L05d Proportion of adults satisfied with leisure facilities Culture & Leisure Services CHN01 Cost per Primary School Pupil Children's Services CHN02 Cost per Secondary School Pupil Children's Services CHN03 Cost per Pre-School Education place Children's Services CHN04 % of Pupils Gaining 5+ Awards at Level 5 Children's Services CHN05 % of Pupils Gaining 5+ Awards at Level 6 Children's Services CHN06 % of Pupils from 20% most Deprived Areas Gaining 5+ Awards at Level 5 Children's Services CHN07 % of Pupils from 20% most Deprived Areas Gaining 5+ Awards at Level 6 Children's Services CHN08a Gross Costs of 'Children Looked After' in residential- based services per child per week Children's Services CHN08b Gross Cost of "Children Looked After" in a community setting per child per Week Children's Services CHN09 Proportion of children being looked after in the community Children's Services CHN10 Proportion of adults satisfied with local schools Children's Services CHN11 Proportion of pupils entering positive destinations Children's Services CHN12a Overall Average Total Tariff Children's Services CHN12b Average Total Tariff SIMD Quintile 1 Children's Services CHN12c Average Total Tariff SIMD Quintile 2 Children's Services CHN12d Average Total Tariff SIMD Quintile 3 Children's Services CHN12e Average Total Tariff SIMD Quintile 4 Children's Services CHN12f Average Total Tariff SIMD Quintile 5 Children's Services CHN13a % of P1, P4 and P7 pupils achieving expected CFE level in Literacy Children's Services CHN13b % of P1, P4 and P7 pupils achieving expected CFE level in Numeracy Children's Services CHN14a Literacy Attainment Gap (P1,4,7 Combined) Children's Services CHN14b Numeracy Attainment Gap (P1,4,7 Combined) Children's Services CHN17 Proportion of Children meeting developmental milestones Children's Services CHN18 Proportion of funded early years provision which is graded good/better Children's Services CHN19a School attendance rates (per 100 pupils) Children's Services
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Indicator Code Indicator Title Service Area CHN19b School attendance rates (per 100 'looked after pupils') Children's Services CHN20a School exclusions rates (per 1,000 pupils) Children's Services CHN20b School exclusions rates (per 1,000 'looked after pupils') Children's Services CHN21 Participation rate for 16-19 year olds (%) Children's Services CHN22 Proportion of Child Protection re-registrations within 18 months Children's Services CHN23 Proportion of LAC with more than 1 placement in the last year Children's Services CHN24 Proportion of children living in poverty (after housing costs) Children's Services CLIM01 CO2 emissions area wide per capita Tackling Climate Change CLIM02 CO2 emissions area wide: emissions within scope of LA per capita Tackling Climate Change CLIM03 CO2 emissions from Transport per 1000 population Tackling Climate Change CLIM04 CO2 emissions from Electricity per 1000 population Tackling Climate Change CLIM05 CO2 emissions from Natural Gas per 1000 population Tackling Climate Change CORP01 Support services as a percentage of Total Gross expenditure Corporate Services CORP03b Proportion of the highest paid 5% of employees who are women Corporate Services CORP03c Gender pay gap (%) Corporate Services CORP04 Cost per dwelling of collecting Council Tax Corporate Services CORP06a Sickness absence days per teacher Corporate Services CORP06b Sickness absence days per employee (non-teacher) Corporate Services CORP07 Percentage of income due from Council Tax received by the end of the year Corporate Services CORP08 Percentage of invoices sampled that were paid within 30 days Corporate Services CORP09 Proportion of SWF Crisis Grant decisions within 1 day Corporate Services CORP10 Proportion of SWF Community Care Grant decisions within 15 days Corporate Services CORP11 Proportion of SWF budget spent Corporate Services CORP12 Proportion of DHP funding spent Corporate Services CORP- ASSET01 % of operational buildings that are suitable for their current use Corporate Services CORP- ASSET02 % of internal floor area of operational buildings in satisfactory condition Corporate Services ECON01 Percentage of Unemployed People Assisted into work from Council Programmes Economic Development ECON02 Cost of Planning & Building Standards per planning application Economic Development ECON03 Average time per business and industry planning application (weeks) Economic Development ECON04 Proportion of procurement spent on local enterprises Economic Development
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Indicator Code Indicator Title Service Area ECON05 No of business gateway start-ups per 10,000 population Economic Development ECON06 Investment in Economic Development & Tourism per 1,000 population Economic Development ECON07 Proportion of people earning less than the living wage Economic Development ECON08 Proportion of properties receiving Superfast Broadband Economic Development ECON09 Town Vacancy Rates Economic Development ECON10 Immediate available employment land as a % of total land allocated for employment purposes Economic Development ECON11 Gross Value Added (GVA) per capita Economic Development ECON12a Claimant Count as a % of Working Age Population Economic Development ECON12b Claimant Count as % of 16-24 Population Economic Development ENV01a Net cost per Waste collection per premises Environmental Services ENV02a Net cost per Waste disposal per premises Environmental Services ENV03a Net cost of street cleaning per 1,000 population Environmental Services ENV03c Street Cleanliness Score Environmental Services ENV04a Cost of roads per kilometre Environmental Services ENV04b Percentage of A class roads considered for maintenance treatment Environmental Services ENV04c Percentage of B class roads considered for maintenance treatment Environmental Services ENV04d Percentage of C class roads considered for maintenance treatment Environmental Services ENV04e Percentage of unclassified roads considered for maintenance treatment Environmental Services ENV05 Cost of Trading Standards and environmental health per 1,000 population Environmental Services ENV05a Cost of Trading Standards, Money Advice & Citizens Advice per 1,000 population Environmental Services ENV05b Cost of environmental health per 1,000 population Environmental Services ENV06 Proportion of total household waste arising that is recycled Environmental Services ENV07a Proportion of adults satisfied with refuse collection Environmental Services ENV07b Proportion of adults satisfied with street cleaning Environmental Services FINSUS01 Total useable reserves as a % of council annual budgeted revenue Financial Sustainability
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Indicator Code Indicator Title Service Area FINSUS02 Uncommitted General Fund Balance as a % of annual budgeted net revenue Financial Sustainability FINSUS03 Ratio of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream - General Fund Financial Sustainability FINSUS04 Ratio of Financing Costs to Net Revenue Stream - Housing Revenue Account Financial Sustainability FINSUS05 Actual outturn as a percentage of budgeted expenditure Financial Sustainability HSN01b Gross rent arrears (all tenants) as a percentage of rent due for the year Housing Services HSN02 Proportion of rent due in the year that was lost due to voids Housing Services HSN03 Proportion of council dwellings meeting Scottish Housing Quality Standards Housing Services HSN04b Average number of days taken to complete non- emergency repairs Housing Services HSN05a Proportion of council dwellings that are energy efficient Housing Services SW01 Home care costs per hour for people aged 65 or over Adult Social Care Services SW02 SDS (DP + MPB) spend on adults as a % of total adult social work spend Adult Social Care Services SW03a % of people 65+ with long-term care needs who are receiving personal care at home Adult Social Care Services SW04b % of adults supported at home who agree that their services and support had an impact in improving or maintaining their quality of life Adult Social Care Services SW04c % of adults supported at home who agree that they are supported to live as independently as possible Adult Social Care Services SW04d % of adults supported at home who agree that they had a say in how their help, care or support was provided Adult Social Care Services SW04e % of carers who feel supported to continue in their caring role Adult Social Care Services SW05 Residential costs per week per resident for people aged 65 or over Adult Social Care Services SW06 Rate of readmission to hospital within 28 days per 1,000 discharges Adult Social Care Services SW07 Proportion of adult care services graded good or better Adult Social Care Services SW08 Number of days people spend in hospital when they are ready to be discharged, per 1,000 population (75+) Adult Social Care Services