Council Leader Adam McVey and Depute Leader Cammy Day have promised to review and act on the findings of a new Accounts Commission report.
The Controller of Audit carried out a Best Value Assurance Report on the Council earlier this year and will be presenting his report to the Accounts Commission later this month (12 November).
The report highlights good leadership in the Council through its programmes to address poverty and sustainability and by making difficult decisions, such as approving plans for Phase 2 of the tram network. It also says the Council has improved its performance across many of its Key Performance Indicators and has a long track record of maintaining revenue expenditure within budget.
The report also identifies areas for improvement including the Community Planning Partnership, Workforce Planning and Public Performance reporting.
Council Leader Adam McVey said:
We’re grateful to the Controller of Audit for his latest report and constructive feedback. The assessment highlights our ongoing delivery for people in our Capital and demonstrates the improving picture of our core services. Our ambitious strategies to put people at the heart of how we design public space, our proven ability to take difficult decisions like taking trams to Newhaven, and extensive consultations with residents and stakeholders to put communities at the heart of our decision-making are all cited as strengths.
Of course, we’re always striving to improve wherever we can so that we deliver the best possible services to the people of Edinburgh. We’ll carefully review the full report and work to address areas in need of our attention going forward.
Depute Leader Cammy Day said:
The Council delivers more than 700 services for Scotland’s Capital, from care for the most vulnerable in our communities and maintaining several hundred miles of roads and pavements to educating our children and putting roofs over people’s heads, and much more besides.
These are especially testing times for all local authorities given the ongoing global pandemic and straitened public finances so it’s vital we are equipped with as much information as possible when making decisions affecting our communities. Our task now is to review the Commission’s report in full with elected members before submitting our detailed response setting out how we plan to use the findings in the best interests of the whole city.