Committee
Audit Committee, 27 Feb 2007
27 Feb 2007 · S2 · Audit Committee
Item of business
Accounts Commission
I want to ask specifically about management or leadership capacity among officials. Your report talks about political governance, and we have talked a lot about the departure of elected members and the associated influx of new ones but, as you and the convener mentioned, there will also be changes among chief officers. By all means disabuse me of this notion if it is not correct but, as an interested observer of the situation for decades rather than years, I have detected that, although the pay and conditions for chief officials in local government are better than they were in the past, the competition for and interest in those positions are sometimes less. If that anecdotal evidence is wrong, you can correct me.I am sure that situations vary greatly throughout the country, but it strikes me that it is vital that we ensure that a wide range of people with various skills compete for senior management positions in local authorities. There will be a period of considerable movement in the coming months. What can your organisation, COSLA or the Scottish Executive do to catalyse the process that I have talked about? The work does not necessarily need to be heavy handed and to come from the top down, but it should encourage and support a meaningful process.
In the same item of business
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Ind
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Ind
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Ind
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The Convener:
Ind
You have raised a useful issue; I hope that the rest of Parliament is also aware of it.
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Lab
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Mrs Mulligan:
Lab
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