Highland Council is the worst-performing council area in mainland Scotland according to new analysis.
The Sunday Times ranked Scotland’s local authority areas using 11 key indicators from five key categories – education, crime, community, health and finance.
The league table was split into mainland councils and island councils (Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles).
Highland Council came last and the Aberdeen City local authority area was third from the bottom of the table.
Of the three islands, Orkney came first, the Western Isles second and Shetland third.
The rankings by population size and importance of each category, with health and education deemed most important.
Highland Council, the biggest local authority by area in the UK, emerged as having the worst public services.
It performed the weakest in literacy, with just 65% of P1, P4 and P7 pupils achieving the expected level in the subject, compared to 88% of pupils in East Renfrewshire, the first-place council.
More than half of household waste in Highland is landfilled, with only 37% recycled, whereas in East Renfrewshire, the figure is 58%.
It also ranked bottom on health tied with Argyll & Bute.
Highland Council ranks 29 out of 29 mainland council areas
One redeeming aspect from the data for the Highlands was it ranked third from the top on the issue of crime.
According to the council website, the largest expenditures for the 2024/25 council budget will be schools and adult social care, with more than £330m between the two areas.
The area of Aberdeen city also performed poorly, most notably on finance, second from last, and in both health and crime, it ranks 25 out of 29.
Its highest ranking was 13 out of 29 for community, which included waste refuse and road repairs.
Moray Council area, sixth from bottom, was third last on finance and 25 out of 29 on health. It ranked fifth on matters of community and crime.
Aberdeenshire Council area was the best performer across the north and north-east, ranking 14 out of 29.
While trailing far down on the issue of health, it was the number one ranked council for lack of crime amongst the population.
In the islands comparison, Orkney was ranked top overall and first for education, health, community and crime but second for finance.
Shetland ranked top for finance, but third for all other categories which meant it ranked bottom of the islands table.
Western Isles Council ranked third for finance and second in all other categories.
Councils respond
A Highland Council spokesperson said: “It is disappointing that a recent analysis on the performance of Scottish Council’s has presented information in a way which does not reflect the true picture of Highland.
“The analysis does not take into consideration the unique geography of our region which serves a third of the land area of Scotland, including the most remote and sparsely populated parts of the United Kingdom.
“The methodology of the analysis includes selective data and does not capture the full context of the delivery of services.
“There are factors, were they included in the analysis, which would have shown Highland in a more positive light. For example, Highland compares more favourably in measures of attainment to other Scottish Local Authorities.
“Highland has an ambitious Delivery Plan in place which seeks to maximise opportunities and resources to improve the quality of life for its residents. A significant plan of investment worth £2bn will see wide ranging investment across communities in the Highlands, with over £1bn of capital investment in schools and roads over the next 10 years in phase one of the programme.
Convener of the Council, Cllr Bill Lobban added: “Highland is the most fantastic area to live, work and do business which is why a large number of international businesses are flocking to set up operations here.
“I simply do not recognise the place that the Times claims to portray.”
Aberdeen City Council stressed that the ranking applied to the area in which it operates rather than the local authority itself.
An Aberdeen City Council spokesperson said: “This is not a ranking of local authorities, including as it does Health, Crime and Finance, which sit outside council control.
As the table title says, it is instead a ranking of local authority areas.
In the two categories that do relate to local authority performance, Aberdeen ranks highest for Community and second highest for Education among City authorities.
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