Aberdeenshire Council

Answer: Performance management is important as it allows the council to identify whether we are on course to deliver our priorities and key objectives. We are able to highlight and celebrate success, as well as focus our attention on areas where we could do better and take action to make improvements. The publication of performance information allows us to be accountable to our residents and other external partners. We use the information gathered to help us prioritise council and service outcomes, and ensure we are meeting the needs of service users, residents and communities

Answer: Aberdeenshire Performs is the council's performance improvement framework and it applies to all services, managers and employees. It encompasses all of our key strategies and plans, whether at partnership, service, team or individual level. The framework also includes our key improvement tools, our self-assessment approach and our mechanisms for collecting customer feedback.

Answer: The majority of performance indicators will have an associated target, usually set on an annual basis. Targets are agreed by each individual service and should be reflective of how the service is currently performing and where it would like to be in future. Some indicators have targets set nationally by the Scottish Government, and there are others where the setting of targets is not appropriate.

Answer: A. As well as setting targets, services are encouraged to set thresholds that alert them to a decline in performance.
Red = Performance is significantly below the target
Amber = Performance is slightly below the target
Green = Performance is on or above target level.

Answer: Audit Scotland sets direction for all local authorities and has the statutory power to define what information needs to be published each year. This direction is usually in the form of high-level headings and councils can choose which indicators to report as evidence. Please consult the Aberdeenshire Council's Statutory Performance Scorecard for 2013/14.

Answer: The AIP sets out planned scrutiny activity for the council based on a shared risk assessment undertaken by a local area network. This network is made up of representatives of all the main local government audit and inspection agencies including Audit Scotland, Education Scotland and the Care Inspectorate. It incorporates evidence from a range of sources including annual reports for external auditors, performance data and self-assessment activity. Please consult the latest AIP( 2013 - 2016) for Aberdeenshire Council.

Answer: The LGBF is based on 55 high-level indicators and encompasses the majority of service areas delivered by councils in Scotland. The indicators in the framework were chosen as they can all be collected on a comparable basis across the 32 local authorities. Activity relating to the LGBF is sponsored by SOLACE (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives) and is coordinated by the Improvement Service. All council participate in the framework and there are identified leads within each organisation.

Answer: Elected Members have an important role in scrutinising performance for all services on a quarterly basis. This is done through four policy committees. In addition, some performance data can be collected on an area basis, so our six area committees also consider performance information quarterly. Members are encouraged to scrutinise performance and, where appropriate, challenge services.

The Scrutiny & Audit Committee has an enhanced role and is responsible for reviewing the performance of the council, looking at the effectiveness of our policies and service delivery, and identifying any potential improvements

Answer: If you would like any further information about the content of these pages please complete the Have Your Say Form or email the Performance team.