Improvement Service

The Improvement Service (IS) is to begin the national roll-out of a project to help improve Community Planning Partnerships' (CPPs) planning and performance following a successful pilot with five CPPs.

The Improvement Service has published a comprehensive evaluation report on the successful piloting of PSIF (Public Service Improvement Framework) in social work services within three councils.

The first PSIF Review Event was held on 10th December 2010 and was attended by over 70 officers from the majority of the PSIF organisations. The aim of the event was to give PSIF officers the opportunity to provide feedback on the framework itself, the support and training that they are provided with and to input to discussions on links between PSIF and outcomes, audit and inspection.

The PSIF Partnership is widening its work with HMIE and Audit Scotland and developing a framework for use by Community Planning Partnerships, as part of its work to help reduce the burden of scrutiny as recommended by the Crerar report and the Reducing Burdens Action Group.

Twenty-one Scottish councils are now using the Public Service Improvement Framework (PSIF), bringing the total number of organisations using the framework to 28. Dumfries & Galloway and Argyll & Bute Councils are the latest to join the partnership.

In other developments, the Improvement Service is working with the Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA) and City of Edinburgh, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire Councils to pilot PSIF in social work services. The pilots will be completed by the end of this year with a full evaluation taking place in early 2010.