Political tensions among councillors in Aberdeen are having a negative impact on the way the authority is being run, a public sector watchdog has warned.
Audit Scotland has criticised “regularly disrespectful” behaviour among members which it argues is affecting the decision-making process at council meetings.
An annual report also revealed the authority’s performance has “deteriorated” over the past year in nearly half of the 47 areas that were assessed.
It also points out a lack of a long-term financial strategy to deal with an upcoming £20million budget shortfall up to 20170-18, which auditors say has doubled since last year.
Last night, the main opposition SNP group argued urgent action was required from the Labour-led administration to avoid taking the city back to the “bad old days of financial mismanagement”.
Labour group secretary Willie Young said he “fundamentally disagreed” with Audit Scotland’s findings on the impact of political in-fighting.
The report found the council’s finances were in a good position in 2012-13, but warned of “significant challenges” ahead due to shrinking public finances. Auditors said the 2013-14 budget, agreed in February, relied on the use of “non-recurring reserves” to balance the books.
“This is not a long-term strategy and carries the significant risk that the underlying reasons for the shortfall are not addressed,” the report states
It was also noted that there were several changes to the corporate management team over the past year, including the departure of the head of finance.
Auditors found the council’s overall governance arrangements were “satisfactory”, with no weaknesses in accounting systems.
However, the report authors raised concerns that the antics of elected members in the council chamber were having an adverse impact.
“We observed political tensions among councillors in several council meetings which have impacted on the effectiveness of the decision-making process,” the report added.
Meetings were described as often long, lasting up to eight hours due to the number of amendments tabled and repetition from councillors during debate.
The report added: “Behaviours in the council chamber were regularly disrespectful with councillors being reminded of the existence of the code of conduct.”
In terms of the council’s performance, the report states that some areas are showing improvement, including the cost of the environmental health service.
Pre-school facilities in the city also received “positive” reports from the Care Inspectorate.
But the authority is taking longer to process planning applications and is failing to meet targets on carrying out pothole repairs.
The report also discussed a recent £100,000 fine issued to the authority by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after a data breach left information on a vulnerable child online.
The council has since accepted an invite from the ICO to take part in an assessment of its compliance with Data Protection Act 1998. A subsequent report concluded there was a “reasonable level of assurance” that the correct procedures were in place.
The auditors have set out an action plan to address some of the issues, which includes monitoring the impact of staffing cuts, providing training for councillors on the audit and risk committee, and tightening up measures on sensitive data.
A spokeswoman for First Minister Alex Salmond declined to comment last night, adding: “That would be a matter for the council.”
The report will be discussed by councillors on Wednesday.
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