All reports published in 2009/10

10 March 2010 for the Accounts Commission

The Accounts Commission has published its findings on West Dunbartonshire Council, following its consideration of the latest update report from Audit Scotland on the council’s progress in meeting its Best Value duties to local people.

4 March 2010 for the Auditor General

The National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland has made big changes in how it manages waiting lists since 2008 and these have made the system fairer for patients. The NHS has done well to implement these complex new arrangements.

25 February 2010 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

Scotland’s public sector is continuing to find more efficient ways of delivering services, and its reported efficiency savings in 2008/09 exceeded the Scottish Government target by more than half.

18 February 2010 for the Accounts Commission

Councils and services are improving. But the scale of the budget challenge they face means urgent action is needed. Councils need to continue to develop and implement plans to cope with the tough times ahead.

14 January 2010 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

In a wide-ranging report, Protecting and improving Scotland's environment, Audit Scotland looks at progress in improving air quality, the water environment, biodiversity and waste management.

13 January 2010 for Audit Scotland

This introduction to our role in public audit and the relationship between these three bodies has been recently updated.

21 December 2009 for the Auditor General

21 December 2009 for the Auditor General

17 December 2009 for the Accounts Commission

Members of Tayside Joint Police Board need to gain a better understanding of their role before the board will be able to achieve best value. However Tayside police force is making good progress in important areas.

10 December 2009 for the Auditor General

The financial performance of the National Health Service (NHS) in Scotland was good over the past year, and it met most of its national targets for patient care and service improvement. However, the service faces significant financial pressures and there are deep-seated health-related problems that it cannot deal with alone.

10 December 2009 for Audit Scotland

The Scheme makes our current position on diversity and equality clear, sets out what we intend to do to achieve our aims, and explains how we will monitor our progress.

10 December 2009 for the Accounts Commission

The Scheme makes our current position on diversity and equality clear, sets out what we intend to do to achieve our aims, and explains how we will monitor our progress.

9 December 2009 for the Accounts Commission

A report by the Controller of Audit to the Accounts Commission under Section 102(1) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

30 November 2009 for Audit Scotland

The Priorities and Risks Framework (PRF) for the NHS identifies the current national priorities and risks in the NHS in Scotland. The NHS PRF is a tool that auditors use to plan audits of NHS bodies. It helps ensure that audit work is properly focused and that it takes account of the national priorities and risks. The NHS PRF is updated annually.

19 November 2009 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

The organisers of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games are making progress in a number of key areas but now need to put in place an overall programme plan, ensure costs are under control and continue to identify and manage other risks.

12 November 2009 for the Accounts Commission

All councils agreed that the report was easy to read and tackled topical issues. Councils also agreed that the reports’ recommendations were relevant, justified and flowed from the report’s findings. Many councils have already begun to take action as a result of the report.

5 November 2009 for the Auditor General

Scotland’s public sector is under the greatest financial pressure in the ten years since devolution. The Scottish Government, the Scottish Parliament and the wider public sector need to make difficult decisions about competing priorities and how best to spend tighter budgets.

15 October 2009 for the Accounts Commission

This report looks at progress since 2004, when this new type of audit was introduced to assess how well councils meet their Best Value duties to deliver improving services to local people.

14 October 2009 for Audit Scotland

This report provides an analysis of Audit Scotland’s staff profile by ethnicity, age, gender and working patterns.

8 October 2009 for the Auditor General

The agency must learn from its experiences to date and must fully assess the risks, review the current performance and develop clear objectives.

29 September 2009 for the Auditor General

22 September 2009 for the Auditor General

This follows up our 2005 report A Scottish prescription – Managing the use of medicines in hospital. Almost all patients in hospital take medicine and this costs the health service more than £220 million a year. The National Health Service (NHS) is working hard to make sure medicines are used safely in hospitals and patients get medicines that will benefit them most. Its also getting better at planning its budgets for new medicines. But hospitals need better information on which medicines are being used to treat different conditions to make sure they’re providing even better care for patients.

14 September 2009 for Audit Scotland

These report on outcomes from Disability Equality Involvement consultation events held in conjunction with Capability Scotland.

26 August 2009 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

The report found that in 2007/08 the public sector in Scotland spent £173 million on drug and alcohol services, but that the wider costs to society are estimated at £5 billion a year. It found that spending decisions are not always based on evidence of what works or what is needed and that there are no national minimum standards in terms of range, choice or accessibility for drug and alcohol services.

18 August 2009 for the Auditor General

The report looked at how much the new General Practitioner (GP) contract cost and the impact it had on patients, GPs and the wider National Health Service (NHS). The report concluded that the contract was not well planned and cost more than expected. There is evidence of improvement for some patients but it will take time to secure wider patient benefits from the new contract.

6 August 2009 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

Key organisations are working well together to plan for dealing with emergencies such as severe weather and the current flu pandemic. However there is still more they could do to improve their arrangements.

6 August 2009 for Audit Scotland

The Performance Audit Standards aim to underpin performance audit work across Public Reporting Group.

The standards are intended to provide a summary of good practice for overarching project issues, such as quality assurance; and for specific project stages, such as writing and delivering reports.

The standards - which complement the Project Management Framework and Performance Audit Manual - clearly set out the expectations for all projects and will be used to hold staff to account for delivery to time, cost and quality.

31 July 2009 for the Accounts Commission

Nearly all councils agreed or strongly agreed that the report had made a good impression on them. National bodies also welcomed the report and work to progress the issues raised has been taking place.

30 July 2009 for the Accounts Commission

Aberdeen City Council has made progress since the publication of largely critical reports in 2008. There is still much to do, but the council now has a very promising base for further improvement.

28 July 2009 for the Auditor General

24 July 2009 for the Auditor General

The report found that significant spending on prisons had improved conditions but had not alleviated overcrowding. Plans to increase prison capacity may not be enough to accommodate projected increases in prisoner numbers.

23 July 2009 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

The public sector in Scotland is improving its purchasing and estimates it has saved more than £300 million since 2006 as a result. It could now make further savings through increased collaboration and better management.

9 July 2009 for the Accounts Commission

The council has made insufficient progress with key improvement priorities. Some key services perform well, but overall progress is inhibited by political conflict and relationships between councillors, and limited development of working relationships between councillors and senior officers.

Until these issues are resolved the council will not achieve the necessary shift in attitude and focus required to deliver Best Value. External assistance is recommended.

30 June 2009 for Audit Scotland

The bulletin primarily aims to share information with
non-executive health board members and elected members of councils, but it also provides a summary of our work that we hope will be of interest to staff working in health and community care services.

17 June 2009 for Audit Scotland

Our annual report and accounts for 2008/09.

17 June 2009 for the Accounts Commission

Our annual report for 2008/09.

17 June 2009 for Audit Scotland

A report covering all of Audit Scotland's work with other countries in 2008/09.

16 June 2009 for Audit Scotland

This report details progress in achieving equality and diversity objectives for Audit Scotland with specific reference to our gender equality scheme. You can find more documents on related subjects in the careers section.

16 June 2009 for the Accounts Commission

21 May 2009 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

The report gained extensive publicity and was quoted extensively at a 'Waste Summit' held by the Scottish Government shortly after publication. A 'waste think tank' was set up, as recommended by the report, and Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) decided to take evidence from Audit Scotland on the issues. All 2008/09 Single Outcome Agreements (SOAs) included indicators for waste management.

21 May 2009 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

There was extensive media and political interest in this report. The Scottish Government and Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) accepted all of the report's recommendations and set up a joint working group to take them forward and develop a new strategy. Councils' school estate management plans also recognised the report recommendations and the Scottish Government gave support for school design through Architecture & Design Scotland.

21 May 2009 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

The study report concluded that all forces have centralised how they manage their calls from the public and more calls to the police are now being answered, with the public generally being satisfied with the service they receive when they call.

14 May 2009 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

Mental health problems cause considerable poor health in Scotland and much has been done to move services from institutions into the community. There now needs to be a better understanding of the care people receive and how resources to support this are best used.

13 May 2009 for the Accounts Commission

The Accounts Commission says that council services have improved, there is positive leadership, good working relationships and a ‘can do’ attitude. However the council still has more to do to ensure it can provide best value for local people.

12 May 2009 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

The report looked at how councils, the NHS and central government bodies in Scotland are improving energy efficiency in relation to buildings and transport use.

12 May 2009 for the Auditor General

The report found that Transport Scotland was generally managing the rail franchise contract effectively and that First Scotrail’s performance was good and improving in most areas.

12 May 2009 for the Auditor General

Audit Scotland’s review found that councils are responsible for around 90 per cent of total expenditure on sport (around £558 million a year). Expenditure is targeted at two national outcomes – increasing participation in sport and developing Scotland’s elite athletes.

12 May 2009 for the Auditor General / Accounts Commission

The report concluded that services for people with long-term conditions are improving but there is considerable progress to be made to provide cost-effective, community-based care.

12 May 2009 for the Auditor General

This is the first overview of activity, costs and quality of specialist and general palliative care across Scotland. The report found that good quality palliative care is not available to everyone who needs it.

12 May 2009 for the Auditor General

The report examined primary care out-of-hours services following the introduction of the new GP contract in 2004, which allowed GP practices to opt out of providing 24-hour care to patients. The report found that the NHS has worked hard to maintain out-of-hours services for patients and, according to our survey results, most patients are satisfied with the care that they get.

7 May 2009 for the Accounts Commission

Many council buildings are in poor condition and others are unsuitable for the services being delivered from them. Councils need better strategies and systems for managing their assets.

24 April 2009 for the Auditor General

22 April 2009 for the Accounts Commission

The Accounts Commission says that while leadership at South Ayrshire Council is showing improvement and some services perform well the council has weaknesses which pose significant risks and must be addressed.

16 April 2009 for the Auditor General

The NHS in Scotland is doing more to make sure that medicines are used safely in hospitals and to plan for new medicines. It now needs better information on how medicines are used in order to further improve patient care.

15 April 2009 for the Accounts Commission

The Accounts Commission says it is pleased to acknowledge the continuing good progress and improvements made by Glasgow City Council and is encouraged by the impact this is having on the city’s people.