20 April 2007
Councils have called on Audit Scotland to change the way it conducts its Best Value audit process, the system that places a duty on local authorities to make continuous improvements in their performance.
In a joint submission, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers say the process needs to be 'more flexible, risk-based and proportionate'.
The two organisations also want more emphasis to be placed on the leadership roles of elected members and senior officers.
They suggest that the current service performance indicators should be replaced with a smaller set of agreed indicators.
Audit Scotland is consulting to assess the effectiveness of the Best Value and Community Planning audit process and will consider changes once the initial audits for all 32 councils are complete.
Cosla and Solace say they welcomed the significant improvements during the first round of audit visits, but are 'concerned at the consequent variability in the audits that has resulted'.
They add: 'We are strongly of the view that the Best Value audit process needs to be more flexible, risk-based and proportionate, recognising the differing levels of progress being made by councils and the capacity within councils to sustain continuous improvement.'
The cost and time burden of scrutiny should also be reduced through better integration with other scrutiny regimes, the submission advises. It says there is a need to 'rationalise and join up the work of all scrutiny bodies'.
Audit Scotland and the Accounts Commission this week welcomed the submission. A spokeswoman said that Audit Scotland had also commissioned a paper from Cardiff Business School on the audit process so far.
Accounts Commission members would meet with leaders and chief executives of the councils after the May elections.
'We look forward to discussing with councils and others their experiences of the Best Value audit,' the spokeswoman said.
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