Last week I attended the SOLACE (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives) Conference. This year’s theme was ‘Looking inwards, outwards and forwards’
This year’s theme couldn’t be more relevant for Argyll and Bute Council. We continually seek to deliver high-quality services for our communities, to collaborate and learn from others and to plan and innovate for a sustainable future.
We covered topics as diverse as child poverty, our Promise to care experienced children and young people, our path to net zero, financial sustainability and SOLACE’s recently launch workforce report.
If you don’t work in social work or education you might wonder what you can do to impact upon child poverty or care experienced young people but we can all have a positive impact. Our housing policies, employability services and revenues and benefits services can all make a difference. It’s also about thinking about whether you can offer work experience to a care experienced person or just make sure that all our services are easy to access and don’t stigmatise people.
We’re making good progress on a journey to net zero. The Council has reported a 6% decrease in its carbon emissions in 2022/23. The Council’s carbon footprint reduced by 1,705 tCO2e, from 28,217 tCO2e in 2021/22 to 26,512 tCO2e in 2022/23. Since the Council began reporting in 2015/16, there has been an overall 32.8% reduction in emissions. This is only part of the picture though. Anyone who travels between Lochgilphead and Oban will know that we’re still dealing with the impacts of the landslips of October 2023 which are undoubtedly a result of climate change. We must continue progress in developing climate-friendly ways of living and working.
Scotland’s councils are facing significant challenges in maintaining and developing workforce capacity. Financial pressures, recruitment difficulties, an aging workforce, skills gaps along with the increased service demand are just some of the issues. Despite the challenges, there is a clear shared commitment to building a strong workforce that will not only support the continued delivery of services in our communities but will be a key foundation for the future transformation of Local Government in Scotland and our shared ambition to fully embrace the wider digital agenda.
I was especially delighted to lead the Springboard session. The launch of the annual programme to develop local government talent. Every year we nominate a candidate and this year Graeme Mcmillan, Transformation Programme Manager is our participant.
What does all this mean for Argyll and Bute – it means continuing to embed a culture of creativity and problem-solving across all teams. We have already made great strides in areas such as digital service delivery and smart technology, but we must continue pushing boundaries, encouraging new ideas, and learning from best practice across Scotland and beyond. Innovation doesn’t always require large budgets—it’s often about finding better ways to use the resources we already have to deliver smarter, more efficient services.
If you have ideas for how we can continue to push those boundaries I’d love to hear from you. You’re welcome to get in touch at workingtogether@argyll-bute.gov.uk
Have a good weekend,
Pippa
Pippa Milne
Chief Executive
