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{\listoverride\listid-130\listoverridecount0\ls9}{\listoverride\listid-131\listoverridecount0\ls10}{\listoverride\listid-132\listoverridecount0\ls11}}{\info{\title Stirling Council}{\author Steve McDonald}{\operator Childrens Services}
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\i0\f17\fs48 Stirling Council{\*\bkmkstart Contents}{\*\bkmkend Contents}
\par }\pard\plain \widctlpar\adjustright \lang2057\cgrid {\b\f17\fs30 The Audit of Best Value and Community Planning
\par }{\f17 
\par Prepared for the Accounts Commission
\par March 2005
\par }{\b\f17\fs28 
\par }{\f17 Audit Scotland is a statutory body set up in April 2000 under the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000. 
\par It provides services to the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission. Together they ensure that the 
\par Scottish Executive and public sector bodies in Scotland are held to account for the proper, efficient and effective use of public funds. 
\par }\pard\plain \s3\sb240\sa60\keepn\widctlpar\outlinelevel2\adjustright \b\f1\fs26\lang2057\cgrid {\f17\fs48 The Audit of Best Value 
\par }\pard\plain \s15\widctlpar\adjustright \f6\lang2057\cgrid {\f17 The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 introduced new statutory duties relating to Best Value and Community Planning. 
\par  
\par The scope of Best Value and Community Planning is very broad but in general terms a successful council will: 
\par 
\par \bullet  work with its partners to identify a clear set of priorities that respond to the needs of the community in both the short and the longer term 
\par 
\par \bullet  be organised to deliver those priorities 
\par 
\par \bullet  meet and clearly demonstrate that it is meeting the community's needs\bullet  operate in a way that drives continuous improvement in all its activities
\par 
\par The challenge for local government is to find new ways of working across services and with other bodies to achieve the best results for citizens and service users. The key objectives of this audit were to: 
\par 
\par \bullet  assess the extent to which Stirling Council is meeting its duties under the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 and 
\par 
\par \bullet  agree planned improvements with the Council. These will be reviewed by the Council\rquote s external auditor over the next three years. 
\par 
\par As Best Value and Community Planning encompass all the activities of a council it is not realistic to audit everything in depth, so we plan our detailed work in two ways: 
\par 
\par \bullet  Where possible, we draw on the findings of other scrutiny processes, such as the work carried out by the Council\rquote s external auditors and by inspectorates. These are incorporated into our report. 
\par 
\par \bullet  We select certain aspects of the Council\rquote s performance for detailed audit investigation. A wide range of sources, including the Council\rquote s ow
n assessment of its performance, reports issued by external audit and inspections and national Statutory Performance Indicators, informs this selection. 
\par 
\par The report reflects this selective approach, with detailed commentary on some areas and limited or no
 coverage in others. While we have made some comparisons with other councils, our overall approach has focused on performance trends and improvement within Stirling Council. The report also reflects the picture available at the time our main audit work wa
s conducted between September and November 2004. 
\par 
\par We gratefully acknowledge the co-operation, assistance and hospitality provided to the Audit Team by Councillor Corrie McChord, Leader of the Council, Keith Yates, Chief Executive, Carol George, Quality, Pe
rformance and Research Manager and all other elected members and staff involved. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17\fs48 Commission findings 
\par }{\f17 
\par 1. The Commission welcomes this report on the performance of Stirling Council\rquote s statutory duties to secure Best Value and to initiate and facilitate th
e Community Planning process.  The Commission recognises that the report gives a broad picture of the Council\rquote 
s performance based on the work of Audit Scotland and the findings of other scrutiny bodies such as inspectorates. While the report does not attem
pt a comprehensive review of all service delivery, it points the way to improvements for the future while recognising the achievements of the Council to date.  We acknowledge the co-operation and assistance of elected members and officers of the Council i
n the audit process. 
\par 
\par 2. Stirling Council performs strongly against the Best Value and Community Planning criteria and recognises the need for further improvement.  The Council has a clear vision for its area, has structured itself to reflect its core valu
es and is positioned to meet the needs of citizens now and in the future.  It has four strategic aims which provide the framework for all its activities and demonstrate its ambition. 
\par 
\par 3. The Commission invites the Council to agree and submit an action plan for improvement by 31 May 2005 which gives priority to the measures outlined in the Controller of Audit\rquote s report.  Particular issues for the Commission are \endash  
\par 
\par \bullet   The need for elected members to become more actively involved in scrutiny.  This would invo
lve the formalisation of the role of the Governance, Resources and Performance Group and a review of the regularity and quality of reports on performance.  The frequency of meetings should also be reviewed 
\par 
\par \bullet  Striking a balance in the allocation of resources that maintains the best performing services and enables improvements to take place in poorer performing areas. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Ensuring that the Council translates its plans into action that leads to sustained service improvement. 
\par 
\par 4. The Commission recognises that Stirling Council has a record of achievement and is clearly focused on the need for improvement and urges the Council to maintain its impetus towards the achievement of Best Value. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17\fs48 Overall conclusions 
\par }{\f17 \line Stirling is a highly ambitious council that has 
made substantial progress since its formation. It performs well against the Best Value and Community Planning criteria and recognises the need for further improvement. While some Council services are performing very well, there is room for improvement in 
o
thers. The Council has a clear vision for its area, has structured itself to reflect its core values and is positioned to meet the needs of citizens now and in the future. Its vision and values are shared across the political spectrum, based on accessibil
ity, listening to communities, participation and high-quality service delivery. 
\par \line 1. The Council has four strategic aims that provide the framework for all its activities and demonstrate its ambition. This is illustrated by its decision to Go for Growth, wh
ich presents the Council with a series of complex challenges and new opportunities. These include the development of more than 8,000 new homes, the schools Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme, an urban regeneration company, city centre developments
, a sports village, housing stock transfer and skills development. 
\par 
\par 2. The Council is positively focused on change. Structural and cultural changes have been designed to ensure it can deliver its high-level strategic aims and have generated some efficienci
es. Reviewing and developing the organisational culture are essential elements of the Council\rquote s drive for improvement. It has clear plans for developing its staff, finding better ways of conducting its business and managing its resources. 
\par 
\par 3. A mature and constructive relationship exists between the Administration and Opposition. The Opposition does not oppose for the sake of opposing and supports many of the Administration\rquote 
s policies. Elected members are clear about their role in policy development and scrutiny and how this differs from the role of officers. They are positive about the support they get from Council staff and have a high regard for them.  
\par 
\par 4. The Governance Resources and Performance Group (GRPG) has made a good start, but ca
n go even further. While the Council had developed a good handle on Best Value reviews before the last election, enthusiasm for this appears to have faded meaning services are not being subjected to adequate challenge and options appraisal. 
\par 
\par 5. Public per
formance reporting arrangements are relatively under-developed. There is scope for the Council to develop balanced reporting, highlighting both good and poor performance and to explore different ways of reaching the public with performance information. 

\par 
\par 6. The Council has a genuine commitment to quality services and improvement, but it knows it must develop a more systematic approach to performance management where elected members take a more active role. 
\par 
\par 7. The Council\rquote s scale means it can be much more 
effective by working in partnership with local communities, other public bodies and the private sector. It recognises that local community planning structures are somewhat unwieldy. While Stirling has produced a wide range of local community plans, the Co
uncil and its partners face a significant challenge in responding to these.  
\par 
\par 8. The Council has a clear commitment to local democracy and community leadership that makes it very visible to local citizens. Overall, its approach to community engagement provides a model of good practice for others. 
\par 
\par 9. There is a long-standing commitment to social inclusion and equal opportunities and the Council can point to clear examples of how this has influenced its priorities and actions. 
\par 
\par 10. The Council has been at 
the forefront of sustainability and the leadership is determined to ensure that its strategic priorities reflect this commitment. There are clear signs that major developments are taking account of sustainability from the outset. 
\par 
\par 11. The evidence available indicates that many of the Council\rquote s services are performing very well. Children\rquote 
s Services, youth support, libraries, emergency management, and council tax collection are very good, Joint Future arrangements for community care are well progressed and c
ommunity learning and development and housing voids management are also good. In other areas, there is scope for improvement. These include refuse collection, roads and grounds maintenance, home care and sports facilities. 
\par 
\par 12. The success of the best per
forming services reflects, in part, the levels of investment the Council has made in them. By contrast, lower levels of investment in areas such as the roads network and grounds maintenance have led to poorer performance. The challenge for the Council is 
to ensure that it tackles poor performance, whilst retaining the success of the best performing services.  
\par 
\par 13.The Council is aware it needs to make improvements in a number of areas and the final part of the report deals with how it can achieve this. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17\fs48 Part 1: Does the Council have a clear strategic vision? 
\par }{\f17 
\par Since its formation, the Council has had a clear vision and core values. Its ambition is illustrated in its decision to \ldblquote Go for Growth\rdblquote . Because of the administration\rquote s small majority, it was essentia
l that its vision and values could command support across the political spectrum. Its vision is focused on the communities it serves and its values aim to ensure that the Council is accessible, that it listens to its communities, promotes fair shares for 
all, encourages communities to participate in decision making, delivers high quality services, values its staff and encourages communication to promote Stirling\rquote s identity and civic pride. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Profile of Stirling area, its people and the Council 
\par }{\f17 
\par 14. The Sti
rling Council area lies at the heart of Scotland. It includes urban and rural areas, and is the eighth largest of all Scottish councils geographically. It stretches from the Southern Highlands in the northwest, to Stirling and the former mining villages i
n the south east.  Its population is projected to increase by 12% to over 95,000 in 2016 and the number of households is expected to increase by 20% by 2014. Stirling\rquote 
s age profile is broadly similar to that for Scotland. Life expectancy is higher than in the rest of Forth Valley and Scotland as a whole.   
\par 
\par 15. The area enjoys relative economic prosperity and has a relatively affluent population. However, there is a high degree of social and economic polarisation, with the second highest spread of rich and 
poor of all 413 Councils in the UK. Overall educational attainment levels are generally higher than in Scotland as a whole. Unemployment is relatively low across the Council area but is significantly higher in the more deprived areas.  
\par 
\par 16. It has an outstanding natural and built environment that includes Scotland\rquote 
s first National Park.  It has relatively low crime rates and active citizens who participate in high numbers at elections.  The housing market is currently very buoyant and businesses are growin
g rapidly, but the area is starting to witness the downside of economic growth with increasing levels of traffic congestion and shortages of affordable housing. 
\par 
\par 17. The Council operates within the context of four strategic aims set in 1997; 
\par 
\par \bullet  Local democracy and community leadership 
\par 
\par \bullet  Social inclusion 
\par 
\par \bullet  Sustainability 
\par 
\par \bullet  Quality and Best Value  
\par 
\par 18. The Council has three Policy Committees: Environment, Economy and Community. These are supplemented by a series of member-led panels. The Council operates through five services: Corporate, Children\rquote 
s, Community, Environment and Regeneration Services. 
\par 
\par 19. The Council has twenty-two elected members who represent either the Labour (12) or Conservative (10) parties. Total budgeted gross expenditure for 2004-2005 is \'a3245 million. Budgeted net revenue expenditure for the General Fund Services is \'a3
158 million. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Vision and ambition 
\par 
\par }{\f17 The Council\rquote s ambition is illustrated in its decision to Go for Growth. A series of large-scale projects are already underway. 
These are designed to ensure that Stirling can sustain its position as an attractive place to live and work and enable the Council to secure the infrastructure necessary for this to happen. 
\par 
\par 20. Stirling is a highly ambitious council. Its strategic vision is set out in the 2003 \endash  2008 Corporate Plan and its partnership objectives are contained in \ldblquote Working Together\rdblquote , Stirling\rquote s Community Plan. 
\par 
\par 21. It has chosen to \ldblquote Go for Growth\rdblquote  in response to the projected population growth in the area between now and 2
016. This presents the Council with a series of complex challenges if it is to ensure that the physical, environmental and social infrastructure exists to meet the needs of a larger, ageing population. Work is underway to meet many of the challenges the C
ouncil will face over the coming years. 
\par 
\par 22. The Structure Plan identified a need to provide around 8,000 new homes and a major growth area designed to meet the area\rquote s housing needs that incorporates local facilities and protects the quality of the local e
nvironment. The Council has brought forward proposals for a new community with 2,500 homes, new schools and other facilities. 
\par 
\par 23. Schools regeneration is a high priority for the Council. It is planning a substantial schools PPP programme to improve all but one of its high schools, which will be refurbished under the Council\rquote 
s capital programme.  The Council has calculated that \'a33.1m of additional revenue costs will have to be found from other budgets for the schools programme.   
\par 
\par 24. The establishment of a community learning campus in Raploch has been included in the PPP programme. This will replace several nurseries, primary schools and community facilities. An Urban Regeneration Company (URC) is being established with \'a3
15 million from the Scottish Executive as part of this \'a3100 million project. The master plan for Raploch includes a health campus, 750 houses, major infrastructure and environmental improvements. 
\par 
\par 25. The Forthside development to
 extend the city centre will include a cinema, hotel and conference centre, offices, a civic space and city centre housing. The project has been highlighted by CoSLA as a good example of sustainability in action. The Council intends to address the poor pr
ovision of sports facilities in the city centre by developing the Forthbank Sports Village. This will be aimed at improving sport and leisure facilities and helping Stirling to become a healthier city. 
\par 
\par 26. The Council has carried out a review of its housi
ng stock. Following options appraisal, it was recommended that the Council should pursue whole stock transfer. The Council approved the recommendation in December 2003 and the stock transfer will be subject to a vote by tenants which is likely to take pla
ce in 2006. 
\par 
\par 27. Stirling was the first council to join the Scottish Executive\rquote s Community Ownership housing programme. This gives the Council access to \'a315 million to kick start the regeneration ofCultenhove and Cornton.
\par 
\par 
\par 28. Large-scale growth brings a 
series of opportunities. Physical developments will create job opportunities and the Council wants to ensure that local people are equipped to compete for these by working with local training providers and encouraging developers to use local labour. The U
RC is aiming for local labour agreements in potential contracts to ensure local people can secure long term jobs. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 The Corporate Plan 
\par 
\par }{\f17 Following a process of restructuring its management arrangements, the Council recognised that re-determining and funding its priorities was the single most important policy decision it had to make. This is reflected in its new Corporate Plan.  

\par 
\par 29. The Corporate Plan is based on the Council\rquote s strategic aims and sets out what it wants to achieve within a five-year timescale. It sets out the Council\rquote 
s priorities for Community Planning, communities, the economy, the environment and development of the organisation. The Plan is set within the context of the administration\rquote s manifesto and provides the Council\rquote s strategic directio
n until 2008.  
\par 
\par 30. Following the election in 2003, the Council wanted to adopt policy-led budgeting. By late 2004, it still had to make decisions about how to fund the priorities set out in the draft Corporate Plan. The Council acknowledges this. After t
he election, members\rquote  priority was to put in place new management structures to deliver its strategic aims. Having done this, members are now addressing the issue of identifying resources to deliver the Corporate Plan. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 The Community Plan
\par }{\f17 
\par Stirling Commun
ity Planning Partnership has been working towards priorities identified in its Community Plan since 1999. The Plan identifies seven main themes that are taken forward by five functional groups. The challenge for the Council and the partnership is to ensur
e that these high level aims can be described as clear and specific actions against which performance can be systematically demonstrated. 
\par 
\par 31. The Council established the Stirling Community Planning Partnership in 1998 as one of the Pathfinder pilots, producing its first five-year Community Plan \ldblquote Working Together\rdblquote 
 in 1999. The Community Planning partners are listed in Exhibit 3. Partners, who are undertaking a long-term visioning exercise covering the next 15 to 20 years, are currently reviewing the Community Plan. 
\par 
\par 32. The Community Plan describes the overall aim of the Stirling Community Planning Partnership: to achieve a good quality of life for its communities. This aim is underpinned by three main principles of social inclusion, sustainability and qual
ity services. These are translated into seven main themes: quality services; local democracy and accountability; social inclusion; prosperity, jobs and opportunity; sustainable development and environment; community safety; and caring communities. Stirlin
g\rquote s community planning arrangements reflect the local context and are consistent with the Council\rquote s corporate aims. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Exhibit 3 
\par Stirling Community Planning Partners 
\par }{\f17 
\par \bullet  Stirling Council 
\par 
\par \bullet  Argyll, the Isles, Loch Lomond and the Trossachs Tourist Board 
\par 
\par \bullet  Central Scotland Police 
\par 
\par \bullet  NHS Forth Valley 
\par 
\par \bullet  Scottish Enterprise Forth Valley 
\par 
\par \bullet  Communities Scotland 
\par 
\par \bullet  Scottish Natural Heritage 
\par 
\par \bullet  Stirling Assembly 
\par 
\par \bullet  Central Scotland Fire Brigade 
\par 
\par \bullet  Clackmannanshire College of Further Education 
\par 
\par \bullet  CVS Stirling 
\par 
\par }{\i\f17 Source: Stirling Council website 
\par }{\f17 
\par 33. The Community Planning Partnership has encouraged local communities to produce local community plans. 33 local plans have now been produced, and the challenge for the Partnership is to realise the ambitions these contain. 
\par 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17\fs48 Part 2: Is the Council organised to deliver better services? 
\par }{\f17 
\par }{\b\f17 Using resources effectively 
\par 
\par }{\f17 
Stirling Council has done a significant amount of work to ensure it can deliver change and use its resources more effectively. A series of structural changes has ensured the Council has kept its focus on its strategic aims and its commitment to delivery. 
The Council recognises that making these changes is a long-term process that requires continual review. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Service structures 
\par }{\f17 
\par 34. The Council is positively focused on change. It has broken with the traditional model of committees linked to service director
ates, focusing its structures around the needs of its citizens instead. The Council believes this leads to greater corporate budget discipline and helps to integrate the Council\rquote s vision and values into services.  
\par 
\par 35. From the outset, the Council has put
 a great deal of thought into the type of structure it wants to deliver its vision and values and we consider this illustrates its openness and commitment to corporate working. It has continuously reviewed its structures to ensure that they are fit to del
iver its strategic aims. 
\par 
\par 36. Restructuring has not been primarily cost-driven, but has aimed to deliver services that meet the needs of communities. In 1999, the Council created the UK\rquote s first integrated Children\rquote s Service, and Community Services brought 
together community care and criminal justice social work with other quality of life services including libraries and culture, sport and leisure and community support. 
\par 
\par 37. Corporate Services was established following a review in 2002. This brought togethe
r three services with a focus on community planning and partnership, customer focus and organisational development and resource management.  As part of this process, the Council set a savings target of \'a3
500,000 over three years. It is well on course to meet this.  
\par 
\par 38. More recently, the Council brought together Environmental and Technical Services. This manages all built and natural environment services. Regeneration Services took responsibility for Housing and Building Services. These changes form part o
f the Council\rquote s plans for housing stock transfer. 
\par 
\par Economic development services will be delivered through joint arrangements in future, and urban regeneration will become the responsibility of the URC. These changes are scheduled to take place between now and 2007. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Service Plans & Budgets 
\par }{\f17 
\par 39. The Council has made good progress with the development of its Service Plans and has ensured that these are consistent with corporate priorities.  Each of the five Council services contains a broad range of servi
ce areas and most are underpinned by service plans. Service plans set out the strategic direction, priorities and spending proposals. Overall, Council services are to be commended for developing Service Plans in advance of the Council\rquote 
s approval of its new Corporate Plan. 
\par 
\par 40. The Council can go even further in three important areas of service planning.  First, it should ensure all Service Plans set out measurable and realistic targets and performance monitoring arrangements. There are already some good ex
amples in the Council. Second, the timescales covered by Service Plans vary considerably. The Council needs to synchronise the timescales for all Service Plans with the new Corporate Plan. This will enable elected members to scrutinise and monitor the con
tribution each Service makes to the corporate objectives and to judge the impact of their new spending priorities. 
\par 
\par 41.Third, the Council operates within a three-year budget cycle.  The Council acknowledges that improvements need to be made to link service
 planning processes with the budget, and the move towards policy-led budgeting should provide the transparency needed to demonstrate how the Council is matching financial resources to its priorities. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Developing the organisation 
\par }{\f17 
\par 42. The establishment of Corporate Services in 2002 led to the creation of an Organisational Development and Improvement (OD&I) division. This has a specific remit to help Council services to improve what they do. 
\par 
\par 43. With such a geographically dispersed
 community, the Council needs to fully exploit the benefits of Information and Communications Technology (ICT).  It has established a Modernisation Programme Board to implement the Access Stirling Strategy and has attracted Modernising Government Funding 
(MGF) to build on progress already made.  Developments include the creation of the Council\rquote s Contact Centre, piloting an electronic document records management system and moving towards online transactions.  The external auditor\rquote 
s e-governance review found that significant progress has been made in modernising the way the Council delivers services.   
\par 
\par 44. The Council sees the continual development of its organisational culture as key to achieving itsplanned improvements. Work is already underway to improve the organisational culture. Thisincludes: 
\par 
\par \bullet  Code of Conduct \endash  in 1998, the Council developed a behavioural code for all staff and elected members that sets out expected standards of behaviour and individuals\rquote  rights and responsibilities 
\par 
\par \bullet  Leadership Development Programme \endash 
 training for senior managers in leadership style, emotional intelligence and conflict management was initiated in 2001. A second phase addressed partnership working and strategic change and included participants from the community pla
nning partnership. A third phase develops leadership behaviours for all managers 
\par 
\par \bullet  Organisational Culture Team \endash  set up within the new Corporate Services to addressorganisational and employee development 
\par 
\par 
\par \bullet  Employee Surveys \endash  to assess employee attitudes and awareness of key issues were started in 1998 and are carried out every two years 
\par 
\par \bullet  Customer Care Code \endash  \ldblquote Respect\rdblquote  was developed by staff and residents in 2001 as part of Access Stirling. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Managing people 
\par }{\f17 
\par 45. The management of human resources (H
R) at Stirling is improving.  The Council has recognised the need to have an updated Human Resources & Organisational Development Strategy to support the aims and objectives of the Corporate Plan.  An Organisational Change Policy that formalises how the C
ouncil manages people during organisational changes, particularly in relation to redundancy and redeployment, has been adopted.  
\par 
\par 46. The Council has not yet adopted a performance appraisal system for the Chief Executive and Directors.  One-to-one meetings
 are undertaken within services to identify the training needs of staff, although this was only in place for around half of Council staff at the time of the audit.  To be effective, this needs to be used consistently and rolled out across all staff in all
 
services. The Corporate Plan indicates that all staff should have one-to-one meetings by 2008.  Work is underway in the Council to agree a format for performance appraisal that will meet the aims of the Corporate Plan. Targets are to be monitored by the C
ouncil Management Team and the system will include performance appraisal for the Chief Executive and Directors. 
\par 
\par 47. Following the introduction of a range of measures to tackle absence levels, the Council has reduced levels of absence from a peak of 5.4% i
n 2002/03 (when the national level was 5.3%), to an average of 5.0% during 2003/04, when the national level was 5.2%. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Managing money and assets 
\par }{\f17 
\par 48. The Council is very good at managing money. It operates a scheme of devol
ved budget management within a three-year budgeting framework. This means that services have the flexibility to manage their own budgets, but have strong central support. Every service has managed within budget for the last two years. 
\par 
\par 49. The Council is 
also getting better at taking a corporate approach to managing its assets.  A Corporate Procurement Unit allows the Council to take a co-ordinated and controlled approach to procurement, following the principles of Best Value.  The introduction of purchas
i
ng cards, online ordering and collaborative purchasing arrangements have helped to deliver cost savings.  The Council now needs to work on developing a sustainable procurement strategy that addresses the tension between external regulation and its wish to
 support local businesses. 
\par 
\par 50. A Corporate Asset Management Team has recently been established to improve asset management planning.  An early success has been the completion of the Schools Estate Management Plan. This ensures that a strategic approach is
 taken to managing schools, using population-forecasting tools.  The review of office accommodation is using option appraisal to identify the most suitable sustainable accommodation for the future.  Further work must be done to ensure that the wider asset
 portfolio meets the corporate objective of sustainability.   
\par 
\par 51. The Local Government in Scotland Act 2003 repealed the requirement to prepare Direct Labour Organisation and Direct Service Organisation (DLO/DSO) accounts under Compulsory Competitive Tend
ering (CCT) legislation.  Councils are required to maintain and disclose trading accounts for Significant Trading Organisations (STOs) from 2003/04.  The Council has identified seven STOs.  Only refuse collection failed to break-even in 2003/04. Surpluses
 generated by STOs have offset some of the Council\rquote s costs for other frontline services. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Is there effective scrutiny by elected members?
\par }{\f17 
\par There is a mature and constructive relationship between the Administration and Opposition. The Opposition does not simply oppose for the sake of opposing and supports many of the Administration\rquote s policies. Progress has been made by members\rquote 
 Scrutiny Panels, but the Council must assure itself that proposals for scrutiny are guided by assessment of performance and corporate priorities. It may wish to consider whether the current Committee cycle is adequate for regular members\rquote 
 scrutiny. 
\par 
\par The Council has worked hard to support elected members to carry out their functions. Overall, elected members are very positive about the
 support they get from Council staff and have a high regard for them. They are clear about their role in policy development and scrutiny and how this differs from the role of officers. 
\par 
\par 52. The Opposition sees its primary role as scrutinising the Administ
ration and holding it to account for its actions. The Administration has considered the forthcoming changes to the local government electoral system and believes its current approach will pave the way for new styles of working beyond the next election.  

\par 
\par 53. The close political margins in the Council have led to the current high levels of co-operation between the two parties. The Administration is clear that this type of co-operation is essential to the Council if it is to deliver its vision and values. 

\par 
\par 54. While Committees approve the selection of service areas to be considered by members\rquote 
 scrutiny panels, an informal agreement means the Opposition selects the topics. In future, selection of topics should also be guided by corporate assessment of performance and priorities.  
\par 
\par 55. The full Council meets four times a year, with two additional meetings to set the budget and enable members to catch up after the recess. The three policy Committees also meet on a quarterly cycle. Prior to the last election, th
e Council operated five Committees, each meeting five times a year. Opportunities for members to consider reports have more than halved since the last election and there are considerable gaps between meetings. The Council may wish to consider whether the 
current arrangements give members scope to exercise their scrutiny functions with enough regularity. 
\par 
\par 56. Members of the Administration and the Opposition have access to the same support, advice, information and resources. Induction training is provided to new members, along with a members\rquote 
 handbook that is well thought of. All members have access to Council staff for advice, and service directors provide pre-committee briefings for Administration and Opposition members on an equal basis.  
\par 
\par 57. Seminars ar
e organised to brief and inform members on especially important or complex policy areas in advance of committee discussions to ensure that decision-making processes are well informed. Recent seminars have focused on Community Care, Homelessness, the Major
 Growth Area, Forthside development, the Best Value Improvement Plan and the schools PPP. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Governance, Resources and Performance Group (GPRG) & risk management 
\par }{\f17 
\par The GRPG has made a positive start, but has yet to establish itself firmly in its role. There 
is still scope for it to assume the role of an audit committee and corporate leadership of scrutiny and risk management. The new Corporate Plan provides the Council with fresh impetus to make these changes. While the Council had developed a good handle on
 Best Value reviews before the last election, this was not followed through after members\rquote 
 focus shifted towards ensuring the Council had the right political structures. There are however, indications that members now have a greater enthusiasm for scrutiny, and the GRPG should take the opportunity to co-ordinate this across the Council. 

\par 
\par 58. The GRPG was set up to co-ordinate governance, resources and performance management across the Council, and fulfils some of the functions of the previous Resources Com
mittee. These included audit and scrutiny, financial management and human resources. The GRPG is a fairly new body and has yet to establish itself firmly in this role. It is not part of the Council\rquote 
s formal committee structure. The Council believes there are relative merits in conducting some of its scrutiny functions in public, but that in certain areas a more rounded debate can only be achieved in private. 
\par 
\par 59. The Council recognises the need to better define the GRPG\rquote s role as a high-level corporate scr
utiny body. It has proposed that the GRPG should recommend between one and three areas requiring scrutiny for consideration and selection by each Policy Committee. The GRPG should ensure that the reviews proposed are significant and that opportunities to 
work with wider stakeholders and partners to challenge policies and service delivery are maximised. There is scope for the GRPG to assume the role of an audit committee. This change would help it to fulfil its corporate role in co\bullet 
ordinating scrutiny and performance across the Council. 
\par 
\par 60. The Council had developed a good handle on scrutiny before the last election, but this faltered while the new administration focused on changing Council structures to match their priorities. The GRPG has started only one
 scrutiny review since taking on responsibility for this function. Initial enthusiasm for best value reviews appeared to fade after the first three years of the programme. This means that services are not being subjected to the challenge and option apprai
sal necessary to achieve best value.  
\par 
\par 61. Risk management arrangements need further development. An Operational Risk Register covering risks in all Council services has been compiled, but the Strategic Risk Register has not yet been finalised. A more form
al approach to risk management would allow risk areas such as disruption to critical IT systems to be mitigated through recovery plans. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Community Planning 
\par }{\f17 
\par 62. The Council has made significant progress in developing and leading an inclusive Community Pl
anning Partnership, with a very strong basis in community engagement and local community planning. The Partnership has worked closely with local communities who have developed 33 local community plans. The Council recognises the complexity of its local co
mmunity planning structures and the significant challenge it faces in responding to this number of local community plans.  
\par 
\par 63. Stirling and its partner councils have been at the forefront of developing community planning across the Forth Valley. This is a
t an early stage, but the Council has embraced the complexities of partnership working at community, Council-wide and regional levels. It is vital that the linkages between local and strategic community planning are made to ensure that communities can hav
e real influence. The Council recognises this and has plans to integrate local community plans into the strategic planning process through new area planning forums.  
\par 
\par 64. The Partnership recognises that more needs to be done to allow the impact of communit
y planning to be systematically demonstrated. Performance monitoring and reporting are at a very early stage and there is no clear framework for evaluation by the Partnership, Council officers or elected members. As a result of this, there is no formal pu
blic reporting of performance against the Community Plan. The Partnership is aware of this and recognises the importance of developing specific and targeted action plans for measuring the impact of its activities.  
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Joint working 
\par }{\f17 
\par 65. The Council has been committed to joint working since the outset. It recognises that its scale means it can be much more effective by working in partnership with local communities, other public bodies and the private sector.  
\par 
\par 66. Substantial progress in partnership working has been made at both corporate and service levels, over and above the community planning agenda. For example, Community Services are leading the Council\rquote 
s implementation of the Joint Future agenda in partnership with NHS Forth Valley. The Scottish Executive\rquote 
s Joint Future Unit found that arrangements to implement Joint Future locally are well progressed. The Area Waste Management Plan is being put into action in partnership with Clackmannanshire and Falkirk Councils, and the Stirling Partnership for Urban 
Regeneration (SPUR) will be continued through the Raploch URC and other initiatives in Cornton and Cultenhove. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Public performance reporting 
\par }{\f17 
\par 67. The Council\lquote s public performance reporting arrangements are relatively under-developed, and need to be co-or
dinated better. An Annual Performance Report is the main mechanism for reporting council-wide performance, but it focuses on providing information about the services the Council provides and how to access them. It contains little information on how well t
he Council is performing, both corporately and at service level. 
\par 
\par 68. The Annual Performance Report needs to show how the Corporate Plan is being implemented and demonstrate the Council\rquote s overall performance. The Council should demonstrate performance agai
nst targets, showing tangible outcomes for service users. It should provide a balanced view, including good performance and areas for improvement. There is also a need to explore different reporting mechanisms to reach people who are unlikely to read repo
rts. The Council acknowledges that its public performance reporting needs to be developed further and this is reflected in its improvement plan. An updated Public Performance Reporting Framework is being developed. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Managing performance 
\par }{\f17 
\par 69. The Council h
as yet to put in place a fully developed performance management system that will enable it to assess its overall impact, but it is committed to quality services and to improvement in its activities. It is essential that the Council now implements a compre
hensive system designed to measure the impact of the new Corporate Plan and the contribution of individual services to it. 
\par 
\par 70. For the Council to deliver Best Value, a systematic approach to reviewing and improving all areas of activity is required. This 
is not currently in place at the corporate level and is not done consistently across services. At the highest level, information on performance against the key corporate objectives contained in the Corporate Plan needs to be available. The Council agrees 
that this is an early priority. The audit of Best Value prompted the Council to prepare a Council-wide self-assessment that resulted in the production of an improvement plan. This provides a firm foundation for moving forward.  
\par 
\par 71. Individual services hav
e developed their own performance management systems. There is no single system across the board, which means that it is very difficult to get an overview of performance within a service or policy committee area. The Council has piloted the European Found
ation for Quality Management (EFQM) approach in some areas, but there are no clear plans or timescales for rolling this out across all services. Approval of the new Corporate Plan and the Council\rquote 
s improvement plan should provide the spur for this.  
\par 
\par 72. E
lected members need to take a more active part in holding Council services to account for their performance. To date, members have had a relatively passive role. The Council needs to develop more robust accountability processes that apply equally across C
ouncil services. Otherwise there is a risk that some poorly performing services could be left to drift for some time before Committees challenge them. 
\par 
\par 73. Members have demonstrated their capacity to challenge constructively when poor performance is brough
t to their attention. They have been closely involved in trying to improve the refuse collection service and have kept a close eye on progress through a daily members\rquote  bulletin. 
\par 
\par 74. The main performance report for the Council Management Team, Committees and the GRPG is the twice-yearly \ldblquote Traffic Light Report\rdblquote 
. It is a well-presented, member-friendly report and provides a commentary on the Accounts Commission Statutory Performance Indicators, explaining the circumstances and adding information about costs and results from the 2002 Residents\rquote 
 Survey. Members appear to be comfortable that this gives them enough information about the Council\rquote s services, but they also need information on how well the Council is meeting local priorities and targets. 
\par 
\par 75. It is essential that the Corporate Management Team and elected members now determine the high level information that they need to manage and scrutinise the Council\rquote 
s activities. They also need to consider whether the traffic light report allows adequate performance scrutiny. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17\fs48 Part 3: How is the Council performing? 
\par }{\f17 
\par }{\b\f17 How well is the Council meeting its strategic aims? 
\par 
\par Local democracy and community leadership 
\par 
\par }{\f17 Stirling Council demonstrates a strong commitment to community engagement that can be traced back to it
s core values. Its approach makes it very visible to local citizens and it has seized both the opportunities and the challenges this poses in a positive way. The Council\rquote 
s approach to community engagement provides a model of good practice for others. 
\par 
\par 76. Local democracy and community leadership have remained among the Council\rquote 
s four high-level strategic aims from the outset. The Community Governance Strategy sets out how the Council will enable local people to participate in decision-making and provide a voice for communities on issues affecting the Council area. 
\par 
\par 77. Community engagement is a central feature of all Council services. The Chief Executive, Directors and Heads of Service are actively involved in the Community Planning Partnership and have pr
esented annual budget options to community organisations. The Council works with 40 community councils and a total of 190 community organisations representing a broad range of interests. It provides direct support to community organisations through a wide
 range of professional staff and funding for local projects and services. 
\par 
\par 78. The Council targets its resources towards the most marginalised communities, recognising that additional support is required to build their capacity to engage in democratic proc
esses. It acknowledges that it may need to manage the pace of development to accommodate its commitment to community engagement. Its approach has the potential to raise expectations amongst communities, and managing competing demands and the potential con
flicts this will generate is an inevitable consequence of its approach. This point is well understood across the Council Management Team and is recognised as a sign of success. We consider that Stirling\rquote 
s approach to community engagement is progressive and, while this can present additional challenges, we commend the Council\rquote s efforts to be open and transparent.  
\par 
\par 
\par 79. The Contact Centre provides a good illustration of the Council\rquote s response to the views and opinions of citizens. This is described in Case Study 1. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Case Study 1 
\par 
\par Contact Centre 
\par }{\f17 
\par The Council has established a range of mechanisms for public engagement in decision-making. Among these have been the Stirling Assembly, the Stirling Residents\rquote 
 Surveys and the Stirling Sounding Board. Through these, the Council has access to citizens\rquote  views about service delivery.  
\par 
\par One constant theme that emerged through these processes was the wish for a single point of contact for information about Council services. In the last Residents\rquote 
 Survey, 62% used the telephone when contacting the Council. The two highest responses to a question about making contact with the Council easier were publicising direct telephone numbers for services and extending telephone contact hours. 
\par 
\par The Council\rquote s response to this has been the \ldblquote Access Stirling\rdblquote  project. Working with its Community Planning Partners, Thus plc and Strathclyde University Graduate Business School, a vision for telephone, face-to-face 
and web-enabled communications was developed. Successful bids to MGF 1 and 2 have helped to fund early implementation of the vision. The Council\rquote 
s Contact Centre opened in September 2002 after just over a year in planning, design and construction and it is now handling some 350,000 calls annually.  
\par 
\par The Contact Centre has deliberately maintained direct person-to-person calling rather than touch buttons or automated responses. It provides enhanced switchboard facilities for customers wishing to speak with n
amed contacts or services and provides 24-hour telephone contact for all enquiries, including the Mobile Emergency Care Service for vulnerable adults. Service processes have been redesigned from a customer perspective to achieve resolution at first point 
of contact wherever possible.  
\par 
\par The Contact Centre\rquote s Advisors have been trained to deal with a wide range of issues and regular liaison with Services is built into the management process. Customers can alert the Council to issues such as traffic light fail
ure anonymously if they wish, but the online \ldblquote customer account\rdblquote  system means that advisors have customer details in front of them and don\rquote t need to ask for repeat information to deal with the enquiry. The Council\rquote 
s revamped website was launched soon after the contact Centre was opened. Citizens can now log faults on-line as well as phoning the Contact Centre. Work is in hand to set up a new City Centre One Stop Shop to improve face-to-face customer service. 

\par 
\par Much remains to be done, for example broadening 
out the Contact Centre, Website and One Stop Shop to include other public services. Nonetheless, the Contact Centre provides a very good example of the Council responding positively and strategically to public opinion. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Social Inclusion}{\f17  
\par 
\par The Council has 
an established commitment to social inclusion and can point to clear examples of how this has influenced its priorities and actions. This includes a commitment to equality of opportunity for all. The Council is now developing a corporate approach through 
the Diversity Working Group and an Equalities Policy Framework. This is at an early stage of development, but there are some indications of success. 
\par 
\par 80. Social inclusion has been one of the Council\rquote s strategic commitments since 1996. This has had an impor
tant influence on the way that it delivers services and there are many examples across the Council to illustrate this. Case Study 2 describes the Council\rquote s approach to Children\rquote 
s Community Partnerships, one of its main contributors to social inclusion. Oth
er examples include community regeneration in Raploch, Cultenhove and Cornton, and the transfer of some economic development staff into Community Services to improve employment opportunities for the unemployed, young people and people with disabilities. 

\par 
\par 81. Another crucial element of the Council\rquote s broad social inclusion agenda is equal opportunities. It adopted an Equal Opportunities Statement of Intent in 1996 that was subsequently included in the Council\rquote 
s Social Inclusion Charter. Responsibility for implementing equal opportunities is devolved to services, but there is limited corporate co-ordination or monitoring.  
\par 
\par 82. The Council has begun to build on the race element of its equalities work and recognises that it now needs to co-ordinate its efforts
 corporately. The Diversity Working Group has developed a policy framework that is accompanied by an Equalities Action Plan. There are some indications of success, and monitoring the Action Plan will let the Council see the impact it is having across the 
board.  
\par 
\par 83. The Diversity Working Group has developed an on-line Diversity 
Awareness Training package that all employees will be required to complete. The Council monitors the ethnic origin of its staff, through a voluntary survey of existing staff and a recruitment questionnaire. However this information is based on a low compl
e
tion rate and the Council recognises the need to encourage a better response. When the Council buys-in services from external providers, an equal opportunities requirement is included in contracts. The Council also intends to review annually its contracte
d providers\rquote  equal opportunities policies. 
\par 
\par 84. Stirling is among the best performing Scottish councils in relation to the number of women employees in senior grades. Over a third of senior posts are occupied by women (Exhibit 4). 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Exhibit 4 
\par }{\f17 
\par The percentage of the highest paid 2% and 5% of earners among Council employees that are women (excluding teachers). 
\par 
\par 2003/2004 \tab \tab \tab \tab \tab \tab Stirling  \tab Scotland  
\par 
\par Highest paid 2% of council employees  \tab 39.4  \tab \tab 28.3  
\par Highest paid 5% of council employees  \tab 46.2  \tab \tab 35.8  
\par 
\par }{\i\f17 Source: Statutory Performance Indicators 2003/04 
\par }{\f17 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Case Study 2 
\par 
\par Children\rquote s Community Partnerships (CCPs) 
\par }{\f17 
\par The New Community Schools Initiative was launched in 1998 with the remit to improve attainment, attendance and learning in schools and to improve 
the social and physical welfare of the community by integrating health services, community services, youth groups, social workers and the local police. 
\par 
\par Stirling Council embraced this initiative under the title Children\rquote s Community Partnerships, realising that it would help to take forward its strategic aim of Social Inclusion and support the implementation of an integrated Children\rquote 
s Service. The strategic plan for community schools has four broad outcomes: 
\par 
\par \bullet  Improved achievement 
\par 
\par \bullet  Improved health 
\par 
\par \bullet  Social inclusion 
\par 
\par \bullet  Improved integrated working to support children, families and communities 
\par 
\par Continuous improvement priorities are identified in local CCP action plans. The University of Stirling has evaluated the initiative independently. The most im
portant facet of the approach has been the success of staff capacity building, focused on the needs of children and families. Delivering services for children through multi-agency groups has resulted in: 
\par 
\par \bullet  A positive impact on the number of exclusions 
\par 
\par \bullet  Year on year improvements in attainment in some areas 
\par 
\par \bullet  Increased staff participation in development events 
\par 
\par \bullet  Generation of ideas from the community 
\par 
\par Children\rquote s Services is now taking action to strengthen CCPs through greater involvement of parents and local business partners. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Sustainability
\par }{\f17 
\par One of the Council\rquote s four strategic aims is sustainability and it has demonstrated a high level of commitment to this for some time. From the leadership down, the Council is determined to ensure that its strat
egic priorities are underpinned by a commitment to sustainable development. The Council\rquote s focus to date has largely been on environmental aspects of sustainability, but recent decisions demonstrate a broader commitment. 
\par 
\par 85. Although the Council has embed
ded sustainable development within its plans, its focus to date has been largely on environmental issues and there are good local examples of sustainable development. The Structure Plan, approved in 2002, is based on a Sustainable Development strategy. 

\par 
\par 86. Stirling has approached waste recycling in partnership with Clackmannanshire and Falkirk Councils. This has resulted in substantial government funding for the area. A good example of the Council\rquote 
s approach to sustainability is the kerbside recycling and garden waste collection scheme. This is described in Case Study 3. 
\par 
\par 87. There are encouraging signs that the sustainability agenda is spreading to other service areas, and among local communities. For example, the Council has demonstrated its commitment 
to the social and economic aspects of sustainability in decisions about the Major Growth Area and the Forthside development. It recognises too, that its sustainability strategy must include more ambitious targets and performance indicators. The Environmen
t Committee has agreed to review existing sustainable development policies in March 2005. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Case Study 3 
\par }{\f17 
\par }{\b\f17 Rollout of Kerbside Recycling and Garden Waste Collection 
\par }{\f17 
\par One of the Council\rquote s objectives is to reduce landfill and increase recycling in line with
 national priorities and the Area Waste Strategy. Following a successful pilot in 2001-2002, the Council agreed to extend the kerbside recycling scheme to the area\rquote s remaining 35,000 households, beginning in May 2003. 
\par 
\par Each house is provided with a blue box for weekly uplift of paper, glass, cans, textiles and plastic. Materials are sorted at the kerb into recycling vehicles by Council staff. 
\par A large-scale composting facility has been established at the old Lower Polmaise landfill site that closed in August 2004. This composts green waste and cardboard collected with the brown bins and is aiming to achieve the BSI PAS 100 standard. 
\par 
\par All of the Council\rquote s 38,000 residences will have both the blue box and brown bin by the end of 2004.  Use of these containers has transformed the traditional culture of waste collection and disposal.  
\par 
\par The kerbside recycling and garden waste scheme has quickly realised many benefits. These include reduced waste, lower costs in landfill tax charges, lower waste disposal charges
 and lower costs for topsoil which otherwise would have to be purchased to restore the old Polmaise landfill site.  
\par 
\par The monthly household kerbside recycling rate has increased from 4.4% in May 2003 to 30.8% in June 2004.  This trend puts the Council on track to reach a 45.4% monthly household kerbside rate when the new system is fully rolled out to all households.  

\par 
\par The Scottish Executive target of 25% of all waste collected by the Council being recycled or composted by 2006 provided an initial target for the Council. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 How well are Council services doing? 
\par 
\par }{\f17 Many of the Council\rquote s services are performing very well but, in some areas, there is scope for improvement. The Council\rquote s self-assessment \ldblquote The Story of Stirling Council\rdblquote  demonstrates it has a high lev
el of awareness of its strengths and weaknesses. The success of the best performing services reflects in part the levels of investment the Council has made in them. By contrast, lower levels of investment in areas such as the roads network have led to poo
rer performance. The challenge for the Council is to ensure that resources are applied where they are needed most, whilst retaining the success of the best performing services. 
\par 
\par 88. We have already noted that the Council has yet to put in place a comprehen
sive performance management system and that Public Performance Reporting is under-developed. In considering how well Council services are performing, we have drawn on a range of other sources, including Statutory Performance Indicators, the last published
 Residents\rquote  Survey and reports published by other external scrutiny bodies. 
\par 
\par 89. We also drew on the Council\rquote s self-assessment, \ldblquote The Story of Stirling Council\rdblquote . The self-assessment was based on the EFQM model and gave a detailed analysis of the Council\rquote s p
erformance from its own perspective. It was accompanied by a detailed improvement plan. The self-assessment indicates the Council has a high level of self-awareness of its main strengths and weaknesses. The audit confirmed many aspects of the self-assessm
ent, and Part 4 of the report sets out the high-level actions that we consider will enable the Council to deliver its programme of improvements. 
\par 
\par 90. The Council\rquote s self-assessment was accompanied by a detailed improvement plan. We have agreed with the Coun
cil that, while its improvement plan is comprehensive, it needs to be realistic and should be more tightly focused with specific targets and timescales. The plan contains a large number of improvement areas that the Council needs to prioritise to reflect 
its capacity to deliver. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Statutory Performance Indicators: 2003/04 
\par }{\f17 
\par 91. Audit Scotland publishes council profiles containing sixty five performance measures.  Stirling Council\rquote s performance improved by at least 5% on 24 measures between 2001/02 and 2003/
04, and declined by 5% or more on 10 measures.  The Council was ranked in the upper quarter of all Scottish councils on 23 measures and in the lowest quarter on 10 measures. 
\par 
\par The Council ranks highly on a wide range of measures: 
\par 
\par \bullet  Education \endash  the ratio of pupils to available places is between 61% and 100% in all secondary schools (6 other councils meet this target) 
\par 
\par \bullet  Protective services \endash  100% of noise complaints settled on first contact were dealt with on day of receipt. (8 other councils meet this target) 
\par 
\par \bullet  Benefits Administration \endash  the average time taken to process new claims is 21 days compared to a Scottish average of 47 days.  The Council ranks 3rd out of 32 Scottish councils on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Benefits Administration \endash  the average time taken to process notifications of changes of circumstances is five days, compared to a Scottish average of 12 days.  The Council ranks 4th on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Corporate issues \endash  39.4% of the highest paid 2% of earners among council employees are female, compared to a Scottish average of 28.3%.  The Council ranks 2nd on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Corporate issues \endash  46.2% of the highest paid 5% of earners among council employees are female, compared to a Scottish average of 35.8%.  The Council ranks 2nd on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Finance\endash  96.4% of council tax income for the year was collected in that year, compared to an average of 91.7% for comparator councils.  The Council ranks 2nd on this indicator (first among mainland councils). 
\par 
\par \bullet  Libraries \endash  the average time taken to satisfy library book requests is 11 days, compared to a Scottish average of 18 days.  The Council ranks 2nd on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Libraries \endash  29.9% of the resident population are borrowers, compared to 24.3% for Scotland as a whole.  The Council ranks 3rd on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Libraries \endash  the average number of issues per borrower is 32.1 The Council ranks 3rd on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Adult Social Work \endash  7.4% of people subject to a probation order were reported to the court for breach of probation during the year compared to a Scottish average of 18.3%. The Council ranks 2nd on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Housing \endash  1.6% of cases were reassessed as homeless or potentially homeless within 12 months of previous case being completed, compared to a Scottish average of 16.3%. The Council ranks 4th on this indicator. 
\par 
\par 
\par 92. Of the 10 indicators where the Council was ranked 25th or below, four relate to social work, two to sports and leisure facilities and four relate to other services. These are: 
\par 
\par \bullet  The number of home care clients aged 65+ receiving care in evenings/overnight as a percentage of clients was 15.9%. The Council ranked 25th on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Home care \endash  the total hours as a rate per 1,000 population aged 65+ was 350.4. The Council ranked 26th on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Staff qualifications \endash  21% of staff in residential homes for other adults are qualified. The Council ranks 26th on this indicator.  
\par 
\par \bullet  Social enquiry reports \endash  the proportion of reports requested by the courts that were allocated to social work staff within 2 working days of receipt by the social work department was 64.9%. The Council ranks 29th on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Swimming pools \endash  there were 2495 attendances per 1,000 population. The Council ranks 29th on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Indoor facilities \endash  there were 96 attendances per 1,000 population. The Council ranks 30th on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  There were 44.6 litigation claims per 10,000 population. The Council ranks 27th on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Business advice requests \endash  90.2% requests were dealt with within 14 days of receipt. The Council ranks 30th on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Road carriageway condition \endash  59.1% of the network should be considered for maintenance treatment. The Council ranks 31st on this indicator. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Refuse collection \endash  the gross cost per property of refuse collection was \'a362.57. The Council ranked 27th for this. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Corporate Services 
\par 
\par }{\f17 93. We selected the Council services with most pub
lic contact for more detailed consideration. We considered earlier the role played by Corporate Services at the heart of the Council and, for these reasons, we have not reported in detail on its performance here. Its responsibilities include strategy, gov
ernance, performance improvement, efficiency and customer focus. These represent the core of the Council\rquote 
s strategic agenda. Available evidence indicates that Corporate Services in its new form is having a positive impact across all of these areas. We recog
nise too that, where it does provide customer-facing services, it is doing very well. For example, the 2003/04 Statutory Performance Indicators show that Stirling\rquote 
s Council Tax collection levels are the highest in mainland Scotland, and we have already discussed the level of savings the Council is achieving from the new Corporate Services structure. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Community Services 
\par }{\f17 
\par Community Services plays a key role in the Council\rquote s Community Planning processes and its drive for local democracy and community leaders
hip. It operates within a complex environment of community needs and national policy. It has well developed partnership working and has made good progress on the Joint Future agenda. Some of its services, such as Libraries and Community Learning and Devel
opment, are performing very well. In others, such as the level of home care and the provision of sports facilities, there is scope for improvement. 
\par 
\par 94. Community Services brings together a broad range of Council services under the \ldblquote Quality of Life\rdblquote  brand. It plays a key role in the Council\rquote 
s Community Planning processes and in supporting local democracy and community leadership. 
\par 
\par 95. The Service has a well-articulated Service Plan and recognises the need to build the views of communities into its service planning processes. It has a clear commitment to partnership and to influencing the work of others to be more responsive to the 
needs of communities. Its Joint Future partnership has been assessed as well progressed by the Scottish Executive.  
\par 
\par 96. The Service recognises the need to improve and develop its performance management processes. It has developed its own systems around the Balanced Scorecard and uses national frameworks to measure certain service areas.  
\par 
\par 97. The Council is committed to developing a balanced, mixed economy of care through a combination of directly provided and purchased residential, community and home car
e services in the area. This approach has enabled the Council to increase the level of home care over the last two years where the number of hours for people aged over 65 rose by 16.6%. While this is an encouraging sign, the overall level of Home Care in 
t
he area is low in comparison to the national average, and this is an area the Council should review. Statutory Performance Indicators for 2003/04 show that the level of home care as a rate per 1,000 of the 65+ population was 350.4 hours, well below the Sc
ottish average for the same period of 512.2 hours. 
\par 
\par 98. Recent inspections by HM Inspectorate of Education (HMIE) have confirmed that Community Learning & Development services in rural areas are very good. Criminal Justice Services show a significant improvement in performance over the past year. 
\par 
\par 
\par 99. The Libraries service is very good. Statutory Performance Indicators show a high percentage of the population regularly borrows books, the average number of issues per borrower is high and the time taken to 
satisfy book requests is low. The last residents\rquote  survey indicated that the satisfaction level among users was 87%.  
\par 
\par 100. Lifelong learning centres are located in the Council\rquote s libraries and provide a range of networked electronic services. Statutory performance indicators show a significant growth in their use over the last two years. 
\par 
\par 101. Sports development is good, but sport and leisure facilities are poor.  The service is working to improve and increase local facilities by developing community usage
 in schools and taking advantage of opportunities through the planned Schools PPP programme. The Council is also addressing the lack of facilities by building a sports village. It wants to ensure that new facilities remain accessible to the most excluded 
citizens and is therefore pursuing a model that is financially viable, but affordable for all users. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Children\rquote s Services 
\par }{\f17 
\par Children\rquote s Services are very good. The recent HMIE report found that educational services were of a very high standard. Inspections have highlighted achievement, but also areas for improvement in children\rquote 
s social work. In recent years, the Council has invested heavily in the service. As part of its corporate planning processes, the Council needs to consider whether the same level of i
nvestment can be sustained in the future and, if not, how current success can be maintained. 
\par 
\par 102. Stirling was the first Council in the UK to establish an integrated Children\rquote s Service, combining Education and Social Work services for young people.  This
 is the largest service in the Council. In 2002/03, expenditure on Education and Social Work Services were 8% and 10.4% respectively above Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE). 
\par 
\par 103. The Service has a clear vision and clear strategic aims. A large proportion of service users are satisfied with both primary and secondary schools.  The Service plays a key part in the Council\rquote 
s Social Inclusion agenda through, for example, its Children\rquote s Community Partnerships that recently won a CoSLA Excellence Award.  
\par 
\par 104. The HMIE inspection report for Stirling Council, published in August 2004, found that the Council had \ldblquote made considerable strides in realising its strong commitment to the all round care and education of children. \ldblquote 
 All but one of the quality indicators used du
ring the inspection were assessed as Very Good. Continuous improvement in performance was assessed as Good. In a System 3 survey undertaken as part of the HMIE inspection, the service came out above the figures for other councils on 23 out of 26 indicator
s. 
\par 
\par 105. Recent figures published by the Scottish Executive show the Council out-performing the Scottish average for Higher and Standard Grade passes at all levels in 2003/04. There are variations within the figures that suggest the Council needs to deal w
ith the slight deterioration in achievement levels shown in two indicators. 
\par 
\par 106. The HMIE report shows that Stirling is ranked joint first in relation to pre-school provision among Scottish local authorities.  All children in both their pre-school year and the year before receive pre\bullet 
school education. The 2002 Residents Survey found that 86% of users of the service were satisfied with nursery education. HMIE found that there was very good provision and quality of support for early education. 
\par 
\par 107. The Chief Social Work Inspector\rquote s 3rd Annual Report published in 2003 noted, \ldblquote Children\rquote s services are well developed and have benefited from joint working between Education and Social Work\rdblquote 
. The report also noted that the Council\rquote s achievements included \ldblquote improving the educational performance of children and young people who are looked after\rdblquote , but that it had to take urgent action to \ldblquote 
make sure all children and young people who are looked after, are in full-time education\rdblquote . The Council currently has full time educational programmes available for all looked after children of school age. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Environment Services 
\par 
\par }{\f17 Refuse collection and roads maintenance services are poor. The Council acknowledges the need for great improvements in both services. Roads mainte
nance requires major investment and will not be a quick fix. By contrast, kerbside recycling has been very successful. 
\par 
\par 108. The Council\rquote s waste management service has undergone substantial change over the past three years. This has included new joint wor
king arrangements with two neighbouring councils, approval of a new Joint Area Waste Strategy, additional government funding for strategic waste management, closure of its landfill site, and opening of a transfer station, commissioning a new civic amenity
 site, and a new waste and recycling service. 
\par 
\par 109. The refuse collection service was well regarded by customers until about a year ago, when bins on certain routes were not being collected as scheduled and complaints about the service escalated dramatically. 
\par 
\par 110. The refuse collection Direct Service Organisation (DSO) has been making increasing losses in recent years, prompting management action to try to reduce costs. This included revising collection routes and staff shifts. This provoked a negative re
action from some of the workforce and led to deterioration in the service. The difficulties were compounded by an ageing fleet of vehicles, which kept breaking down and being taken off the road for repair. The cost of frequent repairs and additional casua
l staff saw the deficit more than double to \'a3439,000 between 2002/03 and 2003/04. 
\par 
\par 111. The Council approved a tender for replacement vehicles in February 2004 and will pay for these through Prudential Borrowing. The new fleet was due to come into service 
in November 2004 but has been delayed.  The Council recognised that, not only did the service have to improve quickly, but the costs also had to be reduced. Between 2002/03 and 2003/04, the gross cost of refuse disposal per property rose from \'a3
48.68 to \'a355.04, an increase of 13.1%. The average increase for similar councils during the same period was 5.8%. 
\par 
\par 112. The Council has now secured agreement with the Trades Unions for different ways of working, including longer working days and introducing performan
ce-related pay. It expects to reduce the annual deficit over the next three years, although the external auditor has expressed serious doubts over its ability to achieve its statutory breakeven target by March 2006. 
\par 
\par 113. In contrast to the poor refuse co
llection service, the roll-out of the new Kerbside Recycling Collection has been very successful and the Council can already show significant increases in the proportion of waste being recycled instead of put into landfill. 
\par 
\par 114. The Council\rquote s road networ
k is in a serious state of disrepair following years of under-investment. Stirling is one of only four councils where more than 20% of the roads network has deteriorated to a point at which it needs resurfacing to prolong future life. The Council has chos
en to spend less than half its GAE allocation on roads maintenance. This makes it one of only three councils spending such a small amount. The 2002 Residents\rquote  Survey showed that 58% of those taking part were dissatisfied with the level of service. 

\par 
\par 115. There is no quick fix that will return the roads to an acceptable condition. They require substantial and sustained investment and the Council has estimated that the cost of returning the roads network to an average condition would exceed \'a3
13 million in capital investment. The sum allocated for roads maintenance in 2004/05 is \'a3
2.3 million. The Council recognises that the roads network is one of its most valuable assets and that it must therefore find a way to halt its decline and return it to an acceptable condition. 
\par 
\par 116. There are three other services within Environment Services that are under-performing \endash  street cleaning, trading standards and public transport co-ordination. The Council is trying to improve these and needs to be able to demonstrate better 
services in three years time.  
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Regeneration Services 
\par }{\f17 
\par Regeneration Services is in the process of implementing the Council\rquote s plans to out-source, redesign and re-integrate a number of its functions. The Council\rquote s approach demonstrates that it is prepared
 to make changes where these will lead to better service delivery. Although parts of the service, such as housing voids management and re-letting, are performing well, the Council is pursuing stock transfer, driven primarily by the financial incentives av
ailable. The introduction of the Purchasing Card scheme is a welcome addition to the Council\rquote s efforts to improve performance. 
\par 
\par 117. Regeneration Services was established to transfer and reshape certain Council functions and establish partnerships to deliver the Council\rquote 
s key strategic development projects. Residual Council functions will be re-integrated into other core services. This work is already underway, with proposals to re-integrate some functions into other Council services and relocate elements o
f economic development to Scottish Enterprise. These processes are intended to realise savings that can be re-directed to frontline service delivery. 
\par 
\par 118. There is a well developed Service Plan that contains a robust performance management framework including local key performance indicators. The plan recognises the need to work in partnership with a number of key stakeholders.  
\par 
\par 119. Since the outset,
 the Council has been keen to influence the physical development of its area. The Stirling Ventures team has been established to drive forward major projects like the city centre extension at Forthside. The Council is positioning itself to take advantage 
of future opportunities that may include the creation of a local development agency. 
\par 
\par 120. The housing service performs well. Rent lost due to voids and the time taken to re-let houses have been consistently below the Scottish average for a number of years. 
\par 
\par 121. Following an options appraisal exercise, the Council has decided to pursue whole housing stock transfer to community ownership. The decision on whether to proceed to transfer the stock will be determined by a tenants\rquote  ballot. The Council
\rquote s primary
 motivation for moving towards transfer is to relieve the burden of servicing the housing debt and to secure future investment in the stock. The Council has consulted extensively with tenants and staff about the proposed transfer (Exhibit 9). 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Exhibit 9 
\par 
\par Stock Transfer consultation processes 
\par 
\par }{\f17 Ways in which the Council has consulted tenants and employees about the housing stock transfer proposal include: 
\par 
\par \bullet  Tenant representation on the Council consultative group set up to bring forward a detailed proposal for stock transfer and to form the new landlord\rquote s management committee. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Open meetings held throughout the Council\rquote s area, with bus transport and cr\'e8ches provided. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Tenants\rquote  newsletter, \ldblquote Open Door\rdblquote . 
\par 
\par \bullet  Stirling Tenants Assembly Fact Sheet.  
\par 
\par \bullet  Internal newsletter for employees. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Information cascades from the Head of Housing through managers to their teams. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Regular meetings between officers and union officials. 
\par 
\par }{\i\f17 Source: Stirling Council 
\par }{\f17 
\par 122. Building Services repairs and maintains Stirling\rquote 
s Council housing stock, schools and public buildings. The Council carries out approximately 55,000 repairs each year to its housing stock. In 2002, 57% of tenants were satisfied with the service. It is
 close to the Scottish average for emergency repairs completed within the target time and for the percentage of non-urgent repairs completed within target time. 
\par 
\par 123. The Council has introduced a purchasing card scheme that is designed to improve efficiency in a number of areas, including how quickly the Council responds to repairs. The scheme is described in Case Study 4. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Case Study 4 
\par 
\par Purchasing cards 
\par 
\par }{\f17 As a result of a successful pilot project carried out in 1997, the Council has introduced purchasin
g cards to improve the quality of services provided to citizens. These enable trades staff to buy materials directly over the counter from local suppliers when they need them and reduce the need for the Council to operate large scale material stores. The 
c
ards and software management system were provided at no cost in return for the Council becoming a reference site for the suppliers, Visa and Scorpion. The Scorpion management system was implemented in 2001 after tests were conducted to ensure it worked wi
th the existing financial ledger and costing systems. 
\par 
\par Annual spend using the cards has risen from almost \'a3800,000 in 2001/02 to over \'a35 million in 2004/05. The Council also receives a spend-related rebate from the card provider. This will be about \'a315,000
 in 2004/05. This money will be available to spend on service improvement that will directly benefit citizens. 
\par 
\par The benefits for Stirling Council 
\par 
\par \bullet  Money saved from improved pricing and economies of scale negotiated with supplier. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Better management and control of purchasing means there is less waste of money and goods. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Purchase-to-pay process time reduced from 60.6 minutes to 16.9 minutes when cards replace the traditional method. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Purchase-to-pay time is further reduced to 8.3 minutes when buying online and paying by card. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Stock levels reduced by 66% 
\par 
\par \bullet  Close to \ldblquote real time\rdblquote  accounting, with every card transaction posted to financial ledger and costing systems within 72 hours of being processed. 
\par 
\par 
\par The benefits for citizens of Stirling 
\par 
\par \bullet  Time needed to complete building repairs reduced due to immediate availability of parts. 
\par 
\par \bullet  More repairs completed during working hours, resulting in better service levels and financial savings. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Faster response to citizens\rquote  needs during emergencies achieved without the need to hold large amounts of stock and inventory, again resulting in savings. 
\par 
\par \bullet  More tenants will get new kitchens as a result of a 2.5% price rebate for payment by card on a kitchen supply contract. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17\fs48 Part 4: What needs to improve? 
\par }{\f17 
\par Stirling Council recognises the need for an open culture that supports change, challenges poor performance and looks for better ways of delivering services. It is clearly focused on the need for improvement and its corporate structures have been tailored
 to achieve this. 
\par 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Developing an improvement culture 
\par }{\f17 
\par 124. Continuous improvement in public services and local governance lie at the heart of the Best Value and Community Planning policy framework. Local authorities must develop an improvement culture a
cross all service areas. Elected members and officers must focus on key policy objectives and the needs of service users and communities, and be driven by a desire to achieve the highest possible standards in service delivery. This requires a culture wher
e areas in need of improvement are identified and openly discussed and in which service performance is constructively challenged. 
\par 
\par 125. Stirling Council has made a lot of headway in defining its strategic improvement agenda since the election in 2003 and h
as in place a range of strategies designed to develop the organisation and improve service delivery. Its challenge now is to put these into practice. There are clear indications that the Council is willing to change what it does to meet its objectives, an
d we believe that the creation of Corporate and Environment Services and plans to outsource elements of Regeneration Services illustrate this commitment. 
\par 
\par 126. The Council made a good start on members\rquote  scrutiny, but this has drifted somewhat since the last
 election. Members are fairly passive in this respect and rely on officers to report to them. The Council, therefore, has to take a fresh look at how members can become more actively involved in scrutiny, and review the regularity and quality of reporting
 to ensure poor performance is dealt with promptly. The GRPG has the potential to assume the role of an audit committee and take on a much clearer role in scrutiny and risk management at the corporate level. 
\par 
\par 127. There is scope for the Council to make muc
h more of Public Performance Reporting and it is seeking new ways of reaching the public. It recognises the need to have a comprehensive performance management system in place across the Council and to have elected members more actively engaged in this ar
ea. 
\par 
\par }{\b\f17 Improvement Agenda for Stirling Council 
\par }{\f17 
\par 128. While some Council services perform very well, others need to improve. The Council prepared a comprehensive improvement plan during the audit process and is finalising an Action Plan with specific and mea
surable targets to address the key areas for improvement. 
\par 
\par 129. The scope of the improvement plan presents the Council with a signific
ant challenge and will test the corporate discipline that is one of its main strengths. Equally, the Council is making progress in aligning its spending plans with its strategic priorities. Delivering the improvement plan will require clear direction from
 the top and a greater commitment to performance scrutiny by elected members. The external auditor will monitor progress over the next three years. 
\par 
\par 130. The Council\rquote s improvement plan is very ambitious and may change following the audit. In our view, the Council needs to give priority to the following measures in its final plan: 
\par 
\par \bullet  Align its service plans with the corporate planning time-frame, ensure service plan objectives are specific and measurable, and clearly linked to budgets 
\par 
\par \bullet  Deliver its Human Resources and Organisational Development Strategy 
\par 
\par \bullet  Ensure that its proposals for members\rquote  scrutiny panels will enable adequate challenge ofperformance in priority areas
\par 
\par \bullet  Review the frequency of Council and Committee meetings to ensure members have sufficient opportunities to exercise their scrutiny role 
\par 
\par 
\par \bullet  Refocus the GRPG into a body that carries the role of an audit committee and assumes corporate leadership for scrutiny and risk management 
\par 
\par \bullet  Improve its Public Performance Reporting mechanisms and ensure these reach all sections of the community 
\par 
\par \bullet  Put in place a comprehensive performance management system that is capable of reporting the contribution of services to corporate objectives and the impact of community planning. The system needs to in
volve elected members more fully and regularly than has been the case 
\par 
\par \bullet  Extend the impact of its sustainability policy across a broader range of services. 
\par 
\par \bullet  Take urgent action to improve the roads network 
\par 
\par \bullet  Recover and stabilise the financial position in the refuse collection service 
\par 
\par \bullet  Increase the level of home care provision 
\par 
\par \bullet  Increase the availability of high-quality sports facilities in the city of Stirling 
\par 
\par \bullet  Ensure that its resources are applied where they are needed most to secure improvements in services that are performing poorly as a result of under-investment and maintain the levels of success being achieved by the best performing services. 

\par 
\par Audit Scotl
and is a statutory body set up in April 2000 under the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000. It provides services to the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission. Together they ensure that the Scottish Executive and public
 sector bodies in Scotland are held to account for the proper, efficient and effective use of public funds. 
\par 
\par If you require this publication in an alternative format and/or language, please contact us to discuss your needs. It is also available on our website: }{\field{\*\fldinst {\f17  HYPERLINK "http://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk" }{\f17\fs20 {\*\datafield 
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\par Audit Scotland 
\par 110 George Street 
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