Local Authorities Guide: South Ayrshire Council

The following is a Q&A with Independent Brian Connolly, leader of South Ayrshire Council.

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

We hope it means a fairer budget settlement, which considers our demographic pressures. We all accept the tight fiscal conditions but hope for the ability to budget for more than one year and the recognition that funding for the Health and Social Care Partnership is significantly lacking. A look at local authority funding and looking to the future would be welcome.

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?

Families and the elderly are two of the council’s priorities.  Family First allows us to offer assistance at an early stage. In some cases, this means interventions can be in place before a child is even born, reducing the need for more costly and less efficient interventions later. The health and wellbeing of our population, particularly the elderly, are prioritised through our sport and leisure facilities. Our Preventative Health Programme involves working with NHS Ayrshire & Arran to deliver around 100 dedicated health and wellbeing classes across South Ayrshire. We continue to work with partners to ensure more and better use of our facilities.

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 and digital technology are often presented as transformational, but on the ground, we are more pragmatic. Digital technology is supporting better decisions, more consistent services, and more efficient ways of working only where it is clearly aligned to service redesign, strong governance, and workforce capability. As a result, the contribution of digital is evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

What counts as a good day in the office?

A good day involves an early start to clear my desk and a programme of productive meetings, working with neighbouring authorities and colleagues or council staff to ensure the capital and routine projects are progressing.

What keeps you awake at night?

As a local business owner, the current handling of the economy keeps me awake for five minutes, no more. There needs to be more focus on encouraging investment and stabilising employment at a national level. The economy feeds every aspect of government, and we need to do more in this area.

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

My job is to coordinate our cabinet members, which can be challenging at times because, as an independent group, we have eight independent minds and a compromise is often the outcome. I believe this role requires collaboration so each councillor who leads on policy has responsibility for their area and I provide any strategic guidance as required.

This article appears in Holyrood's Local Authorities Guide 2026.