After a Scottish council catastrophically miscalculated the required size of a new primary school, the cost to rectify the situation was put at £60 million.
Now, a new report has shed more light on the mistakes made in Renfrewshire - and how they can be rectified and avoided in future.
So, what are the key messages?
‘Historic failings of leadership’
In June 2023, Renfrewshire Council received the findings of the independent Bowles report, which, the Accounts Commission said in a new report today, “highlighted significant historic failings of leadership, oversight and risk management in relation to the provision of school accommodation for Dargavel Village”.
Events leading up to that point spanned many years, but the problem boiled down to this: Dargavel Primary School in Bishopton, near Glasgow, had opened in 2022 with a capacity of 548, but forecasts suggested some 1,100 spaces would be needed to contend with demand over the next decade.
After what was described in the Bowles report as a “very significant error in school capacity planning”, a new primary school and an extension to nearby Park Mains High School would be needed to meet demand.
Junior staff asked to do too much
Bowles found that “decision making was not sufficiently scrutinised or challenged by senior management”.
Meanwhile, junior staff in the council’s education and children’s services department had been “asked to make assessments on pupil demand that were beyond their expertise and experience, with no appropriate support or supervision”, which “led to the errors in school capacity planning going unidentified”.
Bowles also advised that the prospect of disciplinary action was “limited” since “the key individuals had either left the council or were too junior to merit formal disciplinary action”.
An April 2024 Education Scotland report told Renfrewshire Council to have “clear contingency plans” in case of “slippage” with the planned opening of the new primary school in August 2027. It highlighted that, among other concerns, many local residents were “very worried about the potential impact of significantly increased traffic on an already congested road”.
Today’s follow-up Accounts Commission report notes that, for the council, “rebuilding trust will take time”.
Key findings in today’s report relate to:
1. Leadership after ‘historic failures’
A leadership programme arranged for Renfrewshire Council officers is welcomed by the commission - but it is “vital that this programme is extended to include the political leadership of the council”.
The commission’s report adds: “Elected members have a key leadership role and must be supported to fulfil their scrutiny and decision-making responsibilities effectively. It is crucial that historic failures of leadership and governance referred to in the Bowles report are not repeated.”
2. Culture and behaviour change
The report highlights the importance of “effective cross-council working and decision making”. While the council has improved in recent months, it still faces “challenges...in balancing competing priorities and making difficult decisions”; it must continue efforts to “actively and openly learn lessons from previous challenges and amend behaviours accordingly”.
The report adds: “Overall, we maintain a strong interest in the culture of the council and whether it can demonstrate sustained change and improvement in the longer term.”
3. Community engagement
While the commission “welcomes the increase in community engagement undertaken by the council since January 2024 and its ongoing commitment to improve its engagement with affected communities”, it advises that “rebuilding trust takes time” and notes the “strength of views expressed by the community” in a recent statutory consultation.
It is essential, the report says, that engagement with communities is shown to be “robust, inclusive and meaningful, and that feedback received is reflected in decision-making processes”.
4. Wider impact and issues of transparency
Auditors are “concerned that uncertainty remains around the financial implications of previous planning failures relating to Dargavel and their impact on council services”. The council must “set out clearly and transparently” what this entails and “continue to work with community planning partners to mitigate any potential impact on relevant services”.
The Accounts Commission has said it will “maintain a close interest” as the council puts together its medium-term financial plan, including “the actions it puts in place to mitigate the additional costs arising” as well as “the wider impacts on service provision”.
The authors of today’s report also feel the need to “reiterate again the importance of transparency and good governance”.
Further updates from the Accounts Commission on the Renfrewshire situation will include a wider “best value” report on the council’s services and finances, due to be published in December 2024 after being “accelerated” forward from 2027.
Leadership challenge set
Andrew Burns, deputy chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “Whilst it’s clear action is being taken to address the cultures and behaviours that resulted in the failures of school provision, now the council must demonstrate sustained change and improvement in the longer-term.”
In brief comments to coincide with the report’s publication today, Mr Burns also highlighted the importance of elected members who are able to cope with the demands of the role.
“Councillors have a critical leadership role,” he said. “To help ensure they fulfil their scrutiny and decision-making responsibilities, councillors must have access to, and take up, appropriate training and development. This is vital to ensure historic failures of leadership and governance at the council are not repeated.”
A Renfrewshire Council spokesperson, responding to today’s Accounts Commission report, said the additional costs had already been “factored into our planned borrowing to fund our long-term capital investments”.
The spokesperson also stated that “future impacts of these additional costs are being considered through the wider financial planning continually taking place to ensure the council remains financially stable over the coming years”.
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