Demand for council services and costs are rising faster than available funding. Councils are at risk of becoming financially unsustainable. This is impacting services. They must fundamentally rethink how they operate and deliver services: https://bit.ly/LG_finances_2425

Since the reform of policing in Scotland in 2013 a lot has been achieved. The service is well managed and led. But there's more to do, especially around workforce planning and management. Full details in the Auditor General's joint report with HMICS: https://bit.ly/Policing_BV

North Lanarkshire Council has strong foundations for the future as it faces a growing budget gap. It’s focused on improving residents’ lives, investing in the local economy and working with partner organisations. But there are clear challenges ahead: https://bit.ly/North_Lan_Council

Delayed discharges affect people’s physical and mental health. In 2024/25 people medically ready to leave spent 720,000 unnecessary days in hospital. The Scottish Government and partners must improve how they evaluate initiatives to tackle delayed discharges: https://bit.ly/delayed_discharges

Give yourself the best possible beginning to your career by joining our school or college leaver programme. Find out more and apply by 18 January 2026: bit.ly/School_or_College_Leaver_Programme

There are unacceptable weaknesses in Historic Environment Scotland’s governance arrangements. It operated for almost six months without a Chief Executive or Accountable Officer, and a substitute should have been appointed by the Scottish Government. Full report: bit.ly/HES_2024_25

This time round the Scottish Government must deliver on its NHS reform plans. Despite having more staff and money, the health service remains financially unsustainable. And a lot of government ambitions are longstanding and yet to be delivered: bit.ly/NHS_Scotland...

All Scottish councils must learn from the immediate and ongoing impacts of a significant cyber-attack on Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. The council took swift action following the 2023 attack, but its business continuity plans hadn’t fully anticipated the scale of it: bit.ly/Comhairle_nan_Eilean_Siar

NHS Tayside’s mental health services still face significant issues, impacting patients, their families and staff. Despite some progress there hasn’t been significant change. A lack of clarity and complex governance are impeding the changes needed: bit.ly/NHS_Tayside_...

Lower earnings and employment growth in Scotland compared with the rest of the UK is reducing the impact of devolved taxes. The Scottish Government expects to raise up to an additional £1.7 billion this year but Scotland’s budget is only projected to benefit by £616 million: bit.ly/devolved_taxes

The Auditor General will give evidence on his report 'Scotland's colleges 2025' at tomorrow's Public Audit Committee. The session will be broadcast on Scottish Parliament TV: bit.ly/Scottish_Parliament_TV Before then, you can read the report on our website: bit.ly/colleges_2025

🎓 Join Audit Scotland as a Graduate Trainee Auditor. We'd love to hear from you if you're ambitious and have a passion for helping improve public services in Scotland. Find out more and apply on our website by Sunday, 11 January 2026: bit.ly/Audit_Scotla...

NHS Grampian and NHS Ayrshire and Arran are financially unsustainable. Both needed large Scottish Government loans to break even in 2024/25. While not alone in finding it difficult to achieve financial balance, their situations are currently the most pressing: bit.ly/NHShealthboa...

North Ayrshire Council is a good example of how to do change and innovation well. It’s focused on improving services, reducing poverty and inequality, and proactively tackling a projected £47 million funding gap. Find the Accounts Commission's new report: bit.ly/North_Ayrshi...

Council culture and leisure services have experienced a disproportionate share of council savings measures. They're spending less on culture and leisure services, reviewing the services they offer and increasing or introducing charges. Read the Accounts Commission's report: bit.ly/culture_leis...

A new Auditor General report will assess the financial and operational performance of Scotland’s NHS in 2024/25 and how well it's addressing challenges and supporting reform. Read the audit scope ahead of anticipated publication in December: bit.ly/NHS_in_Scotland_2025_audit_scope

🎓 Graduate Trainee Auditors – applications open! Over the past few weeks, we've been at numerous recruitment events, meeting hundreds of students and talking about life at Audit Scotland. Check out our application tips page to help you prepare: bit.ly/Graduate_Tra...

In 2020 the Scottish Government made a national commitment to improve Scotland’s care system by 2030. But plans have been slow to come together after not enough early delivery planning by itself and COSLA. More in the Auditor General and Accounts Commission's joint report: bit.ly/The_Promise_25

At tomorrow’s Public Audit Committee, the Auditor General will give evidence on the recent audit of UHI Perth. Follow the session on Parliament TV from 09:30 or on catch-up: bit.ly/Scottish_Par... The report is available on the Audit Scotland website: bit.ly/UHI_Perth

We're looking for a Senior HR Advisor to help our team to deliver an excellent generalist HR support service across Audit Scotland. This is a varied role, with plenty of autonomy and excellent opportunity for career development. Find out more and apply on our website: bit.ly/Senior_HR_Ad...

The next Accounts Commission meeting takes place on Thursday 9 October in our Glasgow office. You can attend the public session, online or in person. Topics for discussion include a report on North Ayrshire Council. Register on the Audit Scotland website: bit.ly/Accounts_Commission_2025_meetings

Scotland’s colleges face changing how they operate, as ongoing financial pressures impact on students and staff. The sector has experienced a 20 per cent real terms cut in funding over the last five years. Find the Auditor General's report here: bit.ly/colleges_2025

At tomorrow’s Public Audit Committee, the Auditor General will give evidence on the recent report ‘Adult Disability Payment’. Read the report here: bit.ly/ADP_2025 You can also watch the session on Parliament TV - live from 09:30 or on catch-up: bit.ly/Scottish_Parliament_TV

Tackling climate change is one of the greatest challenges we face – and public audit has a clear role to play. For Scotland's #ClimateWeek2025, take a look at our topic page. You'll find out more about our work and access a range of useful resources: bit.ly/Climate_Change_topic_page

UHI Perth has started to address weaknesses in its financial management, but it needs to do more. The college failed to produce a budget for 2023/24. And it recorded a £2 million deficit in 2023/24. More in the Auditor General’s new report: bit.ly/UHI_Perth

(1/3) At the launch of SHERU's report this morning, we were joined by the Auditor General Stephen Boyle to hear about the work of @auditscotland.bsky.social on how to best deliver on preventative policy in Scotland.

The Scottish Government needs to set out how it will manage a funding gap created by its higher spending on devolved benefits. Adult Disability Payment costs millions more than the UK benefit it replaced. Find the Auditor General's full report: bit.ly/ADP_2025

Report out next week: Social security and Adult Disability Payment. It's forecast that the funding gap for Adult Disability Payment will rise to £491m by 2028/29. The Auditor General will report on the management and assessment of ADP. bit.ly/Social_Security_Adult_Disability_Payment_audit_scope

The next monthly Accounts Commission meeting takes place in Edinburgh on Thursday, 11 September. Attendance at the public session is warmly welcomed, either in-person or online. On the agenda – a local government policy update and the Chair's update. Book your place: bit.ly/Accounts_Com...

The processes, decisions and actions that enabled five senior Glasgow City Council officers to take significant early retirement and redundancy payouts fell short of the behaviours and standards expected of public servants. Read the Accounts Commission's report here: bit.ly/Glasgow_City...

There is a risk the action needed to prevent and tackle the clear harms of flooding won’t happen at the scale and speed needed. Almost 400,000 properties could be affected by flooding by 2080. New Auditor General and Accounts Commission report: bit.ly/flood_resili...

£25.2 billion of public spending scrutinised. 125 local public-sector bodies audited. 26 reports, blogs and briefings produced. Those are three statistics that summarise the work of the Accounts Commission in 2024/25. Find out more: bit.ly/Accounts_Commission_annual_review_2024_2025

Staff are councils’ most important resource. But they face challenges in recruiting and retaining, and sickness absence rates are at a record high. Urgent progress with workforce plans is needed to protect services and financial stability. The Accounts Commission report: bit.ly/Workforce_Th...

The Accounts Commission's report on East Lothian Council is available on the Audit Scotland website: bit.ly/East_Lothian_Council_2025

The Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) has published a blog summarising all our audit work on climate change that has been considered by the Public Audit Committee, and the key themes emerging from it. 👇

Audit Scotland’s John Cornett has been confirmed as the new President of The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Scotland. There's more about John's appointment on the Audit Scotland website: bit.ly/John_Cornett_CIPFA_Scotland_President

Public bodies and services are under significant financial strain. Our efforts to ensure transparency and accountability are more important than ever. The Audit Scotland annual report is out now: bit.ly/Annual_Report_2024_2025

Renfrewshire Council has a strong commitment to improving, with progress made to address actions on Dargavel Village school accommodation. It's managed money responsibly. But like all councils, it faces significant financial pressures across services. Report: bit.ly/Renfrewshire_Council_2025 1/3

NHS Scotland’s governance arrangements need to be strengthened to deliver the scale of reform needed across the health service. Read the Auditor General's new report: bit.ly/NHS_Governance_2025

Later this year, the Auditor General plans to release a report on the impact of devolved taxes on fiscal sustainability in Scotland. Read the audit scope on our website: bit.ly/Fiscal_Sustainability_and_Tax_audit_scope

Mounting pressures from inflation, increasing costs and demand are exceeding the Scottish Government’s additional investment in Scotland’s councils. Read the Accounts Commission's latest report on the finances of Scotland's councils: bit.ly/Local_Govern...

The Scottish National Investment Bank has been well run to date. But it will not be able to end its reliance on public funding unless ministers can make a case for UK Treasury rules to change. New Auditor General report: bit.ly/Scottish_National_Investment_Bank

On Thursday, the Auditor General will report on the performance of the Scottish National Investment Bank. If you’re not familiar with the bank, this short video will tell you more about its purpose. Find out about the focus of the report: bit.ly/Scottish_National_Investment_Bank_audit_scope

We have published our Diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) strategy 2025–29 and Mainstreaming equality progress report 2023-25. You can read both at the links below: bit.ly/Diversity_Eq... bit.ly/Mainstreamin...

Councillors and senior officers at the Highland Council need to be confident that their ambitious plans for the region are affordable. Borrowing costs are high compared to the Scottish average. New report by the Accounts Commission: bit.ly/The_Highland_Council_2025 1/2

It's forecast that the funding gap for Adult Disability Payment will rise to £491m by 2028/29. An upcoming Auditor General report will provide insight into implementation, recommendations on delivery, and affordability. Publication is planned for autumn: bit.ly/Social_Secur...

Did you know we have an easy read version of the recent Auditor General report on general practice services in Scotland? The six-page summary is available on our website: bit.ly/General_Practice_easy_read_summary

The Accounts Commission's next meeting takes place this Thursday, where members will discuss an upcoming report on The Highland Council. Attendance at the public session is warmly welcomed. You can register for the Microsoft Teams event here: bit.ly/Accounts_Commission_2025_meetings

New Accounts Commission report: Argyll and Bute Council @argyllandbute.bsky.social has a long-standing culture of innovation. It can harness this as it looks to close a funding gap of nearly £29 million. There's more on the Audit Scotland website: bit.ly/Argyll_and_Bute_2025 1/3

New blog by the Chair of the Accounts Commission. Jo Armstrong sets the context for council tax rises in Scotland, with local expectations, increasing demand and financial challenge all intensifying. Read it here: bit.ly/Council_Tax_rises_in_Scotland_blog