Local Authorities Guide: Fife Council

The following is a Q&A with Labour David Ross, leader of Fife council. 

The Public Sector Reform strategy is a key mission of the Scottish Government. What does that mean for you and your council?

Whilst agreeing with many of the sentiments of the reform strategy, I remain sceptical about the practicality and delivery. Christie has been with us for nearly 15 years, and we are still talking about the need to move to a prevention model.

Although local authorities have made some progress, the unremitting financial and service pressures make progress very difficult.  

I have never accepted that we should simply ‘do more with less’ and manage inevitable decline in public services. The alternative is based on a strategy of economic growth and investment in public services.

Are there particular innovative or collaborative ways of working that you can point to in your own council as examples of how you can do more with less?

There are many examples of small scale good practice across local authorities and their partners. To pick a few from Fife I would highlight our Transforming Learning programme. Providing all pupils from P6 onwards with i-pads and embedding these in the core learning and teaching practice in our schools. The multi agency discharge hub in the Victoria Hospital encompassing Council, NHS and voluntary sector staff. The Methilhaven care village comprising a 36 bed care home, 35 sheltered retirement homes and a 39 place nursery annexe.

AI is held up as a potential game changer in terms of public service delivery, but on the ground, what contribution is digital technology making to your own approach?

I think we have only begun to tap the potential and opportunities of AI but we also need to proceed with a degree of caution. On the positive side we hope it will take away the need for many routine tasks, allowing more resources to go into supporting and addressing complex cases and providing face to face support. Providing all our pupils with i-pads will help prepare them for working digitally and for the modern world.  Councils must remember that they are not just another commercial service provider but are part of, and accountable to, the communities they serve, and this must translate into how they go about providing services and the relationship they have with their people and communities.

What counts as a good day in the office?

Achieving a positive outcome for a constituency case or feeling that a policy decision we’ve made has had a positive impact on people’s lives.

What keeps you awake at night?

Feeling powerless to meet a constituent’s needs, particularly around housing or anti-social behaviour. At a strategic level the relentless pressure on finances and service demand, particularly around health and social care and homelessness and housing.

How do you describe what you do as council leader to a stranger?

Our provost is the well-known and universally popular councillor, Jim Leishman. I often tell people that if they compare us to the country then Jim is like the king of Fife and I’m like the prime minister.