As demand for services is increasing and cost pressures are rising, local authorities are facing higher levels of scrutiny over their decision-making and financial management strategies. Robust scrutiny is a core step towards financial decisions that best serve our organisations and our communities. Central to balancing the budget gap has to be a clear understanding of possible areas of financial risk, and how these can be responded to.
Creating a common set of financial sustainability measures which are comparable across all Scottish local authorities will support robust discussions around financial decision making and on the robustness of budgets.
This year, the LGBF has introduced 5 new measures to reflect this focus.
Current performance is in line with target and with Scottish average.