Borders S.O.A. Agreement

Written on: Monday, Jul 7 2008 at 12:00 GMT
Written by: Chief Executive's Department

Summary

This agreement reflects a new relationship between the Scottish Government and Local Government and one that Scottish Borders Council is committed to developing.

The basis on which this agreement is being made is set out in the Concordat between the Scottish Government and COSLA. The components of the package under the Concordat are:

Commitment from the Scottish Government that there will be no structural reform of local government during this Parliament;
Introduction of Single Outcome Agreements for every Council;
An overall funding package for the period 2008-09 to 2010-11;
A significant reduction in the number of separate funding streams to local government;
That local authorities will be able to retain their efficiency savings;
Commitment from local authorities to deliver on a specified set of commitments from within the funding envelope provided;
That a new performance reporting system will over time replace the myriad of existing systems and provide regular, timely and transparent reporting to local communities and the Scottish Government;
Over and above requirements for this new performance reporting system, requirements associated with statutory requirements, any agreed transitional arrangements in moving to an outcomes based approach, ongoing statistical returns and formal inspections, local authorities will not be asked to submit any other monitoring returns or plans to the Scottish Government without prior agreement;
An agreed response to the Crerar Review leading to improved performance management, increased self-assessment and more focused and proportionate external scrutiny; and
Joint responsibility between local government and the Scottish Government for overseeing and monitoring the new relationship.