EXPLORE ABERDEEN

Aberdeen City Council pledges to work with all parties to overcome problems

29/05/08

Aberdeen City Council today pledged to work with the Scottish Government, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, and experts from other councils for the good of the city.

The promise followed the release of the findings of the Accounts Commission's hearing earlier this month on Best Value, Community Planning and Property Sales.

The Accounts Commission has laid down a series of eight recommendations to the City Council.

The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (as amended) requires the City Council to consider the findings at a full council meeting within three months of receiving them, to decide whether to accept any or all of the recommendations, and to detail what action to take in response to them.

The City Council intends to debate the findings and recommendations at the full council meeting on 25 June.

On 19 March, 2008, the Accounts Commission considered the report by the Controller of Audit on the Audit of Best Value and Community Planning in Aberdeen City Council. The Commission agreed that the concerns highlighted in the report warranted the holding of a public hearing.

On 30 April 2008 the Accounts Commission considered a further report by the Controller of Audit in respect of a property sales investigation in Aberdeen City Council. The Commission agreed to cover the report on the property sales investigation as part of that hearing.

The hearing was held on 13 and 14 May 2008 in Aberdeen.

The Accounts Commission has found that the challenges facing the City Council are extremely serious and says that the decision by Chief Executive Douglas Paterson to apply for early retirement affords the opportunity for new leadership at management level. In addition to the recruitment of a new Chief Executive, the Accounts Commission recommends that external assistance be sought, including from an expert in local government finance.

The public sector watchdog says the City Council needs to demonstrate a strong and clear commitment to leading the implementation of the necessary changes.

The Accounts Commission also wants the City Council to agree an improvement plan which has all-party support.

The recommendations in full are:

  • Action should begin immediately to recruit a new and experienced Chief Executive. The interview panel should include representation from all political groups on the Council and should have external advisers.
  • The Council should secure appropriate external assistance from peers, to assist it in implementing these findings and taking forward the conclusions of the Controller of Audit's reports.
  • The Council is encouraged to establish an all-party leadership board for the specific purpose of taking ownership of its improvement plan.
  • Immediately following the appointment of a new Chief Executive a review of the Council's organisational structure should be undertaken. There should be full engagement with employees in considering the options for this structure.
  • The Council should appoint an independent local government finance expert to establish whether the Council's proposed savings are accurate and achievable, and to monitor closely the delivery of the savings. It is also recommended that the Council's external auditor has access to all papers and minutes of the budgetary review working group and be entitled to attend all meetings.
  • The Council should ensure that robust and effective governance arrangements are in place, including officers producing reports that outline policy options, members receiving all committee papers in accordance with the timescales laid down in the Local Government (Access to Information) Act and the Council's standing orders, and members attending appropriate training courses.
  • To enhance public confidence in scrutiny, it is recommended that scrutiny arrangements be chaired by a member of an opposition party.
  • All significant property transactions should be signed off by both the Chief Financial Officer and the Monitoring Officer to ensure appropriate governance and accountability.

The Accounts Commission further recommends that Scottish Ministers take appropriate action to ensure that, should there be any deficiencies in the implementation process, these are rectified.

The Commission will continue to monitor the circumstances of the Council through the Council's external auditors and will require a further report by the Controller of Audit on progress in twelve months' time.

Aberdeen City Council leader Councillor Kate Dean said: "Aberdeen City Council welcomes the prompt publication by the Accounts Commission of its findings and recommendations following the Best Value Hearing held in Aberdeen earlier this month.

"We are minded to accept the recommendations though, as the Commission itself points out, the final decision must rest with a meeting of the full council.

"We welcome the opportunity to work with the Scottish Government, with Cosla and with the rest of the local government family to stabilise our financial position.

"We are also more than happy with the recommendation that we appoint an independent local government finance expert to help us through this process.

"We fully accept the seriousness of our financial difficulties, though it must be pointed out that they apply overwhelmingly to our historically high levels of spending on health and care services and not right across the board.

"While we are minded to accept the recommendations, it is worth pointing out that much of the work that we need to do, as outlined in the Accounts Commission's recommendations, has already begun and many of the recommended processes and procedures are already current practice.

"We are absolutely committed to working together and with others to put our current difficulties behind us so that we can deliver excellent, modern services to the citizens of Aberdeen. That includes the establishment of an all-party leadership board to guide the development of our improvement plan.

"Finally, we will be seeking further discussions with the Accounts Commission in order to get further clarification on some of the recommendations that have been put forward."



If you have any queries regarding this, or any other news story, please contact Aberdeen City Council on: 01224 522000.