Local Authorities Guide: Inverclyde Council

The following is a Q&A with Labour Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council.

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

As a council, we are very much aligned with the strategy and already delivering many of the key aims and objectives, which are ultimately about delivering differently, greater partnership working, and ensuring there are efficient and high performing public services. But for councils to be able to deliver quality public services and truly deliver the government’s strategy, there needs to be fairer and more sustainable funding in place because local government is at a crisis point and struggling to maintain essential services as it is. 

It is difficult, for example, to invest in more efficient to IT systems when the government is cutting our capital grant each year.

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?

The financial climate for councils and the public sector in general is such that we are on a constant journey of innovation and collaboration to make the resources we do have go further. 

Recent examples of innovation include digitising systems, such as e-billing, e-forms, digital systems for home care workers, modernising homelessness services, electronic school catering systems, and in-house additional support needs (ASN) transport. 

We have a joint audit service with another council and a joint resilience service with two other councils. In an ideal world, we would like to go further on joint services but there are challenges in making this happen.

We have strong collaboration with our vibrant third sector to deliver services directly to people in the community who need them. We work closely with other councils, governments, and the private sector to harness external funding opportunities for Inverclyde, including through the Glasgow City Region City Deal which has allowed us to deliver major infrastructure improvements at Inchgreen Marine Park, Inverkip village and the A78, and the stunning Greenock Ocean Terminal cruise ship visitor centre. The council is also beginning a £24m modernisation of central Greenock with support from the UK Government. 

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?

AI has the potential to support staff and services and ease the strain on stretched workforces. We will soon be introducing our own ‘chatbot’ Clyde to enhance the customer experience by quickly answering frequently asked questions and signposting people to the services they need access to. Officers are also exploring how AI could potentially support other service areas. However, AI can never replace the skill, talent, and dedication of our workforce and we must tread carefully to ensure both complement each other without compromising on the service provided to residents. 

What counts as a good day in the office?

No two days are the same, so it is hard to say. I am in this job to make my community a better place and make the lives of those who most need the council’s help better. So being able, at the end of a long day, to say that today I made a difference to someone’s life or helped make progress towards a better Inverclyde is rewarding and helps to keep me doing what I am doing.

What keeps you awake at night?

At this time of the year, how to close the council’s budget gap is always on my mind. We face very tough decisions in the weeks ahead. Although I have been a council leader for the best part of 19 years, it doesn’t get any easier. 

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

A council leader is first and foremost a councillor like all the other elected members. We represent our constituents, hold regular advice surgeries, and serve on council committees and boards. The council leader however has the additional responsibility of giving the council political direction by seeking to deliver on the manifesto of the administration. I work very closely with the council’s chief executive in that regard on a day to day basis.

I also represent the council at a national level attending Cosla to make Inverclyde’s voice heard and meet with Scottish and UK ministers as appropriate. I am also the face of the council to the local and national media on high profile issues. This can make me a target for a lot of hostility, particularly on social media.

A key aspect of the role is to lead the development of the council’s annual budget, seeking, where possible, to achieve political consensus across the council.