Community planning thriving in West Lothian

A community planning partnership (CPP) has made “good progress” in improving the outcomes for people living in the area, according to a new report.

Public spending watchdog the Accounts Commission and the Auditor General for Scotland said West Lothian CPP has considerable strengths, built up over years of effective joint working which has delivered real benefits to local communities.

The report, published today said the partnership has made good progress in improving outcomes for people living in West Lothian, especially in relation to the economy, community safety and aspects of health and wellbeing.

Douglas Sinclair, chairman of the Accounts Commission, said: "West Lothian has set a high standard in community planning. There is much that other partnerships across Scotland can learn from it.

"It should now use the base of its own high standards to improve further in the years ahead, particularly to get a better match between national and its local priorities."

According to the commission, the culture of working together in West Lothian has been supported by centres where services from different agencies are all brought together on one site. The report said the CPP has good information on how it is performing and has its own dedicated team which sustains it effectively.

The 15 partners are responsible for more than £1bn annual spending in West Lothian and have agreed an ambitious vision for the area which sets out fresh challenges for the future. The CPP is now being urged to raise its game further to meet them - through more effective leadership and scrutiny, challenging the contributions made by partners, and improving how it reports back to local people.