North Lanarkshire Council is the latest Scottish local authority to be visited by Audit Scotland as part of their programme of best value and community planning audits.

 

Audit Scotland, an independent agency set up to assess and evaluate Scotland’s 32 local authorities, carries out the planned programme of audits on a three-year cycle. The audit is intended to ensure that councils are providing best value in their services and playing their part, along with other public agencies, in delivering effective community planning in their area.

 

A team of four auditors will be based at the council as of next week (22 October) to begin the process.

 

In preparation for the audit, North Lanarkshire Council presented a submission document to Audit Scotland earlier this year which summarises how the council operates and uses its resources to best effect, its processes for improving local services, the council’s progress over the last eleven years towards its objectives and our future plans and direction.

 

Council Leader Councillor Jim McCabe explains more about the audit process, saying:

 

“I am very proud of the achievements and progress that this council has made to date and I welcome the opportunity that the audit provides to highlight the quality of services we provide and have an independent view on how we deliver those services. We always strive to provide the best possible services at the best possible price, and we listen to the opinions of our residents to ensure that our services meet their needs.

 

“Our achievements, however, have only been possible because of the continued commitment of our employees and strong partnership working through North Lanarkshire Partnership. The partnership brings together the major public service and voluntary sector organisations in North Lanarkshire to make sure we’re joining up public services. This is really what community planning is all about, and the auditors will be looking at how we tackle the challenges of bringing together the work of different organisations to improve local services.

 

“While we are confident in our track record over the last 11 years, we are not complacent and we look forward to having the independent feedback from Audit Scotland at the end of the audit to help identify ways of improving further.”

 

The outcome of the audit is expected to be published by Audit Scotland in the spring or summer of next year.

 

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