Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘Well-run’ Dundee City Council given seal of approval in independent audit

The report praised the council's "effective leadership, good financial management and engagement with communities".

Dundee City Council chambers. Image: DC Thomson
Dundee City Council chambers. Image: DC Thomson

An independent audit has given Dundee City Council the seal of approval, hailing the authority as “well-run, with a clear vision to address challenges”.

The report was carried out by the Accounts Commission, which holds councils and local government bodies in Scotland to account.

The report praised the council’s “effective leadership, good financial management and engagement with communities”.

The organisation operates impartially and independently of councils and the Scottish Government.

Council bosses and leaders welcomed the report’s findings but acknowledged more work needs to be done.

Council leader John Alexander said: “These positive findings by the Accounts Commission are a strong validation of the excellent work that’s being carried out by the council in a number of areas.

Dundee City Council leader John Alexander. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

“We know that there are some areas where more needs to be done to improve the lives of people in the city, and we are working hard with our partners to deliver that change.

“Despite the challenges of the past few years and the difficult financial road that lies ahead, our bold ambitions for a smarter, fairer, more vibrant and attractive Dundee are undiminished.”

This is the second bout of praise for Mr Alexander, who was also named Scotland’s council leader of the year at the Cllr Awards 2023 in Edinburgh.

John Alexander receiving his ‘leader of the year’ award from Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of LGIU Scotland. Image: LGIU Scotland

The authority was commended in the report for its strong focus on community engagement and working with community groups to support residents struggling with rising living costs.

Its work towards net zero has also been praised, with the council having several plans and strategies that are focused on tackling climate change and reaching net zero by 2045.

Dundee City Council ‘still facing challenges’

However, the report highlighted that the council’s future financial plans show the public authority is staring down a cumulative funding gap of £38 million for the 2024-2027 period.

It has been recommended that the council should update its plan to outline how funds will be directed to key areas in the next decade.

Dundee City Council.

It has also been stressed in the report that Dundee has high levels of deprivation, drug deaths and child poverty.

And there are also challenges in reducing the educational attainment gap.

The council is said to be taking action to tackle these issues, but this will take time to determine the impact of this work.

Hopes for new confidence in the council

Council bosses hope that this new report will give the Dundee public new-found confidence in their local authority.

Chief Executive Greg Colgan added: “These findings are welcome recognition of our efforts to continue to deliver for the communities we serve, and are testament to the hard work and commitment of our council employees.

Chief Executive of Dundee City Council, Greg Colgan. Image: Mhairi Edwards/DC Thomson

“I’m particularly heartened by the praise for our commitment to community empowerment and engagement, and also by the endorsement of our good financial management and planning – something that is more important now than ever with the economic climate we find ourselves in.

“Ultimately, this independent assessment and scrutiny should give people who live and work in the city confidence that their local authority is well-led, delivering quality services and providing best value.”

Conversation