Audit Scotland presents strong evidence of Highland Council’s transformation
Highland Council Audit Committee today considered a report by its external auditors, Audit Scotland, which evaluated the Council’s success in transforming services.
The report concludes that Highland Council has a clear plan for transformation which has been influenced by engagement with communities. It has good governance in place, and is working with public, private and third sector partners to progress a range of innovative projects.
The report references partnership projects including working with Citizens Advice to provide welfare advice and information; securing Zero Waste Scotland funding to transform waste services; sharing a procurement service with other councils to save money; and running the Storr Centre on Skye to improve the visitor experience and provide jobs and investment in the local area. It highlights innovative approaches such as the in-house bus service, which has reduced costs and improved the reliability of services.
Audit Committee Chair Cllr Trish Robertson said, “Audit Scotland has made clear that all councils need to change radically and quickly to stay financially sustainable in an unprecedentedly challenging situation. Highland Council took difficult decisions to make savings and increase council tax. This has made funding available for transformation and has helped to reduce the budget gap, as well as driving the significant progress laid out in this report.
“It is reassuring that the report evidences clear planning and governance. The Council must now work at pace with NHS Highland to deliver adult social care transformation and the associated savings, delivering better care at a lower cost.”
Notes for editors
This report forms the 2024/25 Best Value Thematic Report from our External Auditors. This is the third thematic review (BV3) and it was on the subject of Transformation: how councils are redesigning and delivering more efficient services to achieve planed outcomes.
This follows an Audit Scotland report issued in October 2024 on Transformation in Councils, which contained the key message that councils must radically transform at pace in order to ensure their financial sustainability, and included a set of principles which they expected all councils to follow.