local authorities

Summary of a programme run in three locations - Suffolk, Calderdale and Wolverhampton. Each site recruited families who, primarily, were dissatisfied with how things were at the time, who had a vision for things being different and/or were worried about the future. Although each locality had done some information sharing with families, most participants were unaware of or deeply sceptical about personalisation.

Report that highlights the importance of having good quality cost information to inform policy decisions and scrutinise performance, and identifies some of the guidance and cost measures that already exist. It also provides some case studies to illustrate how councils and councillors are currently using cost information.

Report that provides the Accounts Commission’s perspective on local government in Scotland based on its recent audit work. It focuses on the challenges, risks and opportunities in 2012 and provides a short summary of resource management in 2011.

Report that outlines the main findings from a study by ODS Consultants commissioned by Consumer Focus Scotland and Community Food and Health Scotland.

The study included a survey of all Scottish local authorities, three community organisation commissioned case studies, and focus group activity and telephone interviews with older people using food services.

Document that outlines the framework for the inspection of local authority arrangements to protect children, including the effectiveness of early identification and help for children, young people, their families and carers.

These inspections will focus on the effectiveness of the local authority’s child protection services, and the local authority’s leadership of strategic partners in their shared work to help and protect children and young people who are suffering, or likely to suffer, harm from abuse or neglect.

Paper that comes in two parts. First Lesley Sutton shares her experience in looking at (some) data on local authority spend and performance in a few sectors. This is undertaken on the basis of published data, and the annex describes the key data sets that are available and touches upon the significant gaps. Her work does point to a major variation in performance but also emphasises that this is a data and policy minefield; great care should be taken before drawing any conclusions as to relative efficiencies, etc.

This research aims to provide local authority early years and children’s services leaders, and children’s centre managers, with evidence of how children’s centre services are targeting the most disadvantaged families.

In particular, how they are defining, identifying and prioritising families in greatest need of support, and the practical implications of targeting for local authorities, for children’s centres and for policy.

Paper that outlines the practical case for retaining a local authority funded education welfare service (also sometimes known as the education or school social work service) which has with a clear remit for providing support to children and young people who are at risk of poor educational outcomes due to their poor attendance and behaviour.

Statistics which present the latest national figures for Home Care Services provided or purchased by local authorities in Scotland. All local authorities in Scotland provide home care services which give people the support, practical help and personal care that they need to live as independently as possible in the community.

From April 2010 to March 2011 the Young Foundation led the Supporting Local Social enterprise action research project, commissioned by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the office for Civil Society. The aim was to support local authorities to better understand and develop their local social enterprise sector by working in 10 areas.