Tag: Auditor General Stephen Boyle

Auditor General express concerns over Historic Environment Scotland

‘Unacceptable governance at HES’

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) must put strong controls in place to prevent fraud and ensure value for money after unacceptable weaknesses were found in its governance.

The audit of HES’s 2024/25 accounts reported weaknesses in governance arrangements, including: procurement issues, data breaches, unclear processes for complimentary tickets to events at its venues, and no formal register of interests for the Executive Leadership Team.

Auditors reported weaknesses in the financial management of electronic purchasing cards and hospitality. They also found that the HES board was not provided with a paper to scrutinise the cancellation of a specialist archive storage project, which has already cost £2.9 million, with a further £0.5 million likely to be spent.

Together, these issues suggest a culture where organisational policies are not consistently applied or followed.

HES operated without a Chief Executive or Accountable Officer for almost six months in 2025. The Scottish Government should have appointed a substitute Accountable Officer to provide the necessary leadership and accountability in accordance with ministerial guidelines.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “Historic Environment Scotland is navigating a period of significant instability and challenge, with a number of staff-related matters that need to be resolved. This includes allegations of a toxic workplace culture which needs to be fully investigated and addressed.

“My report outlines unacceptable weaknesses in HES’s governance arrangements.

“It is critical that strong controls are now put in place to prevent the risk of fraud and demonstrate that value for money is being achieved.”

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Auditor General: Scottish Government must deliver on NHS reform plans

The NHS in Scotland has not improved in line with commitments made by the Scottish Government, despite having more staff and more money.

Health spending in 2024/25 was over £20 billion – a £3 billion real terms increase from 2019 and 25 per cent higher than a decade ago.

The NHS now employs more than 160,000 whole-time equivalent staff, a 20,000 increase since 2019.

However, despite health boards making unprecedented savings, the NHS in Scotland remains financially unsustainable. In 2024/25, boards struggled to break even and seven needed Scottish Government loans.

Activity has increased in acute hospital settings, helping cut waiting times and waiting lists, but is still below pre-pandemic levels. Demand is high across the health system, and it remains to be seen if this progress can be sustained.

The Scottish Government has made progress in setting out its plans for reform, including a short-term operational improvement plan and longer term health and social care frameworks.

But the published improvement plan lacks clear actions, timeframes and accountability, which will make reporting its progress difficult.

And some of the ambitions within the documents, such as moving more care into communities, are longstanding and have yet to be delivered.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: ‘Despite increased spending, the NHS in Scotland remains unsustainable and it will be extremely challenging to eradicate long waits by the spring of 2026.

‘The plan and frameworks the Scottish Government has put in place for
reforming the NHS are welcome. But there is still a persistent implementation gap between policy ambitions dating back over a decade and delivery on the ground.

‘This time round, it’s vital that the Scottish Government delivers on its reform plans. That means publicly setting out the detailed, measurable actions that will enable change and help everyone understand how a different health service will work.’

Read the Auditor General’s annual overview of the NHS here:

https://bit.ly/NHS_Scotland_25

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Greater urgency needed to tackle flooding in Scotland’s communities

Whilst some public bodies and councils are working well together to tackle flooding, they face gaps in leadership, skills and data, and there is uncertainty about funding. This is limiting what can be achieved and opportunities to maximise the benefit of money spent are being missed.

Climate change is increasing the severity and frequency of flooding in Scotland, with almost 400,000 properties potentially at risk by 2080. But there is a risk that the action needed to prevent and tackle the already clear harms of flooding won’t happen at the scale and speed needed.

With the Scottish Government placing much more emphasis on flood resilience, there remain multiple barriers to effective collaboration across the public sector and to support communities. There is a lack of clarity in roles, responsibilities and funding. More also needs to be done to support communities to prepare for, and recover from, flooding.

The process for allocating funding for major flood schemes is currently not fit for purpose. Existing major flood schemes are taking longer to complete, with expected costs more than doubling to over £1 billion. This means that fewer homes and communities are protected than originally expected.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland said: “The Scottish Government and other public bodies must urgently address critical gaps in roles, responsibilities, information and data. Failing to do this risks ambitions to build communities that can better withstand and recover from flooding.

“Whilst there are good examples of the Scottish Government collaborating with councils, communities and other public bodies, this isn’t sufficient given the scale of future risks.

“It is vital that greater certainty and clarity about the funding available for major flood schemes is provided, with costs and impacts managed and measured, and national agreement on collaborating and engaging with communities secured.”

Andrew Burns, Deputy Chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “Communities are at the heart of future flood resilience. Whilst there are good examples of the work councils are doing, they face significant challenges. There are gaps in the data they need, uncertainty over funding and a shortage of skilled staff.

‘There are inconsistencies in the advice, money and support to enable communities to become both more resilient to flooding events and recover more quickly.

“These challenges need to be addressed by both local and national government.”

Audit Scotland: NHS governance must be strengthened

NHS Scotland’s governance arrangements need to be strengthened to deliver the scale of reform needed across the health service.

NHS Scotland comprises 22 NHS boards, with oversight provided by the Scottish Government. A range of governance groups are in place across NHS Scotland but there are weaknesses within the scrutiny and assurance processes at the Scottish Government level. This risk could be reduced by making greater use of non-executive directors to provide more challenge.

The planning and governance of healthcare in Scotland is becoming more complex, and this limits NHS boards’ ability to drive reform. The mix of local, regional, and national partners makes decision making and accountability difficult.

A new planning framework has been introduced by the Scottish Government and new national strategies for reform are due in 2025. Dealing with this change will be challenging for boards, but it should give them more clarity and help them to work more collaboratively to deliver reform.

NHS boards use a blueprint for good governance that was produced in partnership with the Scottish Government. The blueprint has been well received but there is scope for it to be strengthened to more clearly set out how board governance should be adapted to deliver reform.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “The delivery of NHS services must be reformed for Scotland’s health service to remain affordable and sustainable.

“NHS Scotland’s governance arrangements are key to delivering that reform, but they need to be strengthened.

“The planning of healthcare in Scotland is becoming more complex and the Scottish
Government needs to ensure lines of accountability and decision-making are clear.”

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Auditor General: Access to mental health services ‘slow and complicated’

Accessing adult mental health services in Scotland remains slow and complicated for many people. In particular, ethnic minority groups, people living in rural areas and those in poverty all face additional barriers.

There have been big funding increases for services since 2017, but a lack of data makes it hard for the Scottish Government to see the impact of that spending. Waiting times for psychological therapies have improved. But ministers do not measure the quality of wider mental healthcare services, or whether they are improving people’s health.

The mental healthcare system is fragmented. The Scottish Government, NHS boards, councils, Integration Joint Boards, Health and Social Care Partnerships and the third sector are all involved in funding, planning or providing services. This makes accountability complex. And it causes complications and delays in developing care focused on the needs of individuals.

The Scottish Government plans to increase its Mental Health Directorate budget by 25 per cent and ensure that ten per cent of the front-line NHS budget is spent on mental health by 2026.

They have also committed to giving all GP practices access to community based mental health and wellbeing services. These commitments are essential to improving access to services and relieving pressure on the mental health workforce. But ministers’ plans are not on track.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “The Scottish Government needs much more information to understand the difference its investment in mental health services is making, from specialist services to community-based support.

“That planning must include moving beyond using waiting times as the sole measure of whether services are improving the lives of those in need. And it needs to include a costed delivery plan for the care that people can expect in their communities.”

Ronnie Hinds, Interim Chair of the Accounts Commission, said: “Councils and Integration Joint Boards have a vital role to play in improving the availability
and quality of data needed to plan services and get the right levels of staffing in place.

“They also need urgently to develop shared goals and targets to improve how housing, welfare and other services work together in order to address and prevent the root causes of poor mental health.”

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‘Serious failings’ at ethical standards body

“It is disturbing to see so many failings in an organisation, not least because it deals directly with concerns raised by members of the public”

Public trust in the body that investigates complaints about the behaviour of MSPs and councillors is now at risk because of serious failings in the way it is run.

The Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland (CESPLS) assesses complaints about the conduct of MSPs, local authority councillors and members of public bodies and then decides which to investigate.

Failings identified by the appointed auditor include:

  • an absence of openness and transparency
  • a breakdown in key relationships with stakeholders and within its own office
  • no effective scrutiny or challenge which might have flagged up issues earlier

The Commissioner’s Office has since accepted 22 recommendations made by the appointed auditor and has made progress in addressing issues raised.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland, said: “It is disturbing to see so many failings in an organisation, not least because it deals directly with concerns raised by members of the public.

“It is vital that progress underway continues and that the recommendations made by the auditor are implemented.

“The overarching risk is that there will be a loss of public trust in the ability of the Commissioner’s Office to properly investigate and consider complaints made against individuals in public life in Scotland.”

STATEMENT FROM THE ETHICAL STANDARDS COMMISSIONER

Audit Scotland today published a Section 22 report* regarding this office (as above). The report and further details can be found on Audit Scotland’s website: Report: The 2020/21 audit of the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland.

The report has been made in relation to serious issues identified in the audit relating to 2020/21.

Ian Bruce was appointed as Acting Commissioner on 20 April 2021 and has instituted a series of remedies. These include:

  • the production of a revised strategic plan for the next three years, which now incorporates the values that were missing from the previous version and clear statements of intent about how the office will fulfil its statutory obligations in accordance with the expectations of the Parliament, public and stakeholders
  • a new biennial business plan covering all office functions and addressing each of the auditor’s recommendations
  • the reinstitution of Senior Management Team (SMT) meetings in accordance with previous good governance arrangements and re-eagement with our Advisory Audit Board, whose members are drawn from the independent members of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body’s AAB
  • the recruitment of three new Investigating Officers and a new Corporate Services Officer, to ensure all office functions are appropriately covered
  • meaningful re-engagement with the SPCB and on-going communications with the SPCB and the Parliament’s Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee to keep the Parliament updated on our situation and plans
  • meaningful and on-going engagement with all stakeholder organisations, including the Standards Commission for Scotland, the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA), the Society of Local Authority Lawyers & Administrators in Scotland (SOLAR) and the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives (SOLACE)
  • ensuring that the directions issued by the Standards Commission are complied with.

Progress to rebuild the organisation and its relationships with stakeholders is well underway.

The Acting Commissioner Ian Bruce stated: “I am grateful for the auditors’ work on the review and have welcomed their recommendations, the majority of which are addressed in our strategic and business plans.

“I have been grateful, also, to the SPCB and the Standards Commission for Scotland for their support since my appointment and their recognition of the many changes that I have already made.

“I and the entire team are dedicated to working in accordance with our new plans and the new values that we have adopted as an organisation. It is incumbent on me and on all of the staff to earn the trust of the public and the many stakeholder organisations that rely on our effective operation as an office. We are absolutely committed to doing so.”