The 'go to' organisation for Local Government improvement in Scotland

The Scottish Local Government Assurance and Information Framework (SLGAIF) sets out the expansive landscape of governance, reporting, performance improvement, audit and scrutiny that relates to local government.

It is shaped around four key elements:

• Democratic accountability, governance, and assurance (including public performance reporting) - open and transparent decision-making, based on evidence and research, holding officers to account for council performance and improvement.
• Council management assurance and improvement – efficient, effective and compliant running of services for communities
• Sector-led improvement and assurance – officers from across local government owning and driving improvement of service delivery and outcomes, at both a local and national level.
• External scrutiny – audit, inspection, regulation, commissioners and reporting.

The framework sets out how these four elements support assurance and improvement across local government. It also maps out accountability, improvement, and assurance arrangements already in place across major service areas in local government.

It is designed to help both local and Scottish governments gain a better understanding of accountability and assurance arrangements, which can then be used to assess how they can be refined, reduced and/or rationalised for a more effective focus on outcomes. It will also help local government to mature its approach to sector led improvement, and to work with partners to ensure the full benefits of Crerar can be realised.

Download the Scottish Local Government Assurance and Information Framework.