By David Scott in Edinburgh
Scotland’s public sector watchdog has pledged a more streamlined audit in partnership with other scrutiny bodies to avoid duplication.
Scotland’s public sector watchdog has pledged a more streamlined audit in partnership with other scrutiny bodies to avoid duplication.Audit Scotland gave its commitment to ensure greater co-operation across the bodies that inspect, audit and regulate local authorities in its corporate plan for 2009 to 2012.
The move follows the Scottish Government’s decision to make the Accounts Commission, through Audit Scotland – which provides services for the commission – oversee scrutiny work by taking on a ‘gate-keeping’ role.
‘This role aims to support scrutiny agencies to work together to provide assurance about the performance of councils and to support improvement as efficiently and effectively as possible,’ a report on the corporate plan stated.
The need for all scrutiny organisations to co-ordinate their work was highlighted in a study carried out by Professor Lorne Crerar. He concluded that Scotland had an ‘overcrowded’ landscape of scrutiny bodies and said the number should be substantially reduced.
Crerar found that public service providers were critical of the level of inspection burden and that there was evidence of duplication.
Audit Scotland said all the main local government scrutiny bodies – the Accounts Commission and various inspectorates responsible for services such as education, social work, housing and health – were working together ‘to reduce the burden of scrutiny on councils and to improve its impact and effectiveness’.
The report said immediate action was taken to streamline scrutiny in five council areas, and there is agreement that the planned Best Value audits will be used as a single corporate assessment of local authorities.
In an analysis of responses to the corporate plan, Audit Scotland stated: ‘[We will] work in partnership with other scrutiny bodies to deliver a shared approach to risk assessment and deliver more streamlined audit and inspection that is robust and carried out at an appropriate level.’
