MSPs want councils to be "more hands-on" with service deliverers
Councils need to be "much more hands-on" with organisations set up to deliver services on their behalf, a committee of MSPs has said.
Councils need to be "much more hands-on" with organisations set up to deliver services on their behalf, a committee of MSPs has said.
Members of Holyrood's Local Government Committee want there to be a greater emphasis on monitoring the performance of arm's-length external organisations (Aleos).
The committee carried out a short inquiry into how such organisations - which can be used to run arts and leisure services as well as provide social care - operate.
In 2012-13, Aleos employed about 25,000 people and spent approximately £1.3 billion of public money.
Committee convener Kevin Stewart said: More and more of Scotland's public services are being delivered by arm's-length organisations, such as leisure services and social care. These are services which many of us depend on from day to day.
Although Aleos are set up for a number of reasons, what has become clear to us is that there must be a much more hands-on approach from the local authorities in which they operate.''
Monitoring of Aleos by councils varies widely'', Mr Stewart added, saying this issimply not acceptable for services which are responsible for spending approximately £1.3 billion of public money''.
He stated: This is why we suggest there should be greater democratic accountability, public awareness and involvement, and that local authorities must continually monitor if an Aleo remains the most effective way of service delivery.''
The committee found the use of these organisations for the provision of services divided opinion, saying: They can be seen as a more efficient and cost-effective way of delivering public services on one hand, or, on the other hand, a way of shifting accountability for the delivery of services.''
But MSPs said there is no definitive list of Aleos, with their report stating: This is primarily because no legal definition exists for an Aleo and interpretation of what an Aleo is can differ from council to council and organisation to organisation.''
They called on the Scottish Government to establish a legal definition, saying this would provide greater certainty'' and wouldcertainly also aid scrutiny''.
Local councils should place a greater emphasis on measuring the performance of Aleos in meeting the authority's outcomes, the MSPs suggested.
The report said: As Aleos become recognised service deliverers we consider local authorities must focus their monitoring on whether the organisation continues to meet its objectives and to keep asking whether the Aleo continues to be the most effective model for service delivery.''
It also urged councils to ensure their monitoring of Aleos' prioritises the involvement of communities and ensures services are accountable to communities''.