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Leader welcomes positive comments in national report on future delivery of public services

Aberdeenshire Council leader Anne Robertson has welcomed the inclusion of examples of good practice at the council in an important national report.

The Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services, chaired by Dr Campbell Christie, examined how to have sustainable and effective public services capable of meeting rising demand against a background of constrained public spending.

Aberdeenshire Council is highlighted as a local authority which has already taken steps to increase community participation in the management of services through establishing local area networks and establishing formal links with communities to proactively involve them in local decision making.

The report says the Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership and the six area groups it has created “take communication and decision-making to another level”.

In a section covering services built around people and communities, the Marr Community Planning Group is outlined as an example of good practice in this area.

The group aims to identify the needs of communities in the Marr area and work together either to address these or to support people in dealing with them.

More than half of the membership is made up of community representatives.

Some of the achievements of the group over the last few years are highlighted, including a new graveyard in Finzean built by the community with the support of the council.

Also highlighted were the new NHS Grampian dental facility in Huntly and the community management of Braemar Castle, with support from the Cairngorms National Park Authority and the council.

The relationships established through the group also enabled the use of a four-wheel-drive vehicle from Forest Enterprise to allow vulnerable people to be visited or to get to hospital appointments during severe winter weather.

The group brings together representatives from the community and from the Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partners.

Leader of Aberdeenshire Council, Anne Robertson, said: “It is very encouraging to see that in the context of such a significant national report we are highlighted as being among those leading the reform to the delivery of public services.

“The Aberdeenshire Community Planning Partnership has worked hard to try to ensure excellent local services against a difficult background and it’s great all the partners have been recognised as making a positive contribution.

“It is more important than ever for councils to genuinely engage with their communities and residents to identify and deliver opportunities for change at a time when there is increased demand for services with less resources available to deliver.”

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