5.4. Alignment of National and Local View on Delivery of CRS Actions

5.4. Alignment of National and Local View on Delivery of CRS Actions

While some of the actions in the CRS are policies that are still being developed and are not yet in the delivery phase, the majority (68%) are understood to be progressing as planned, with a small number (11%) already having been completed. The remainder (21%) were seen to have emerging risks to delivery, in some cases as a result of factors outside the control of the responsible policy teams, such as the outcome of the recent resource spending review.

In the previous section it was noted that despite different organisations having different articulations of their own outcomes, there is underlying alignment between those outcomes being sought locally, in policy and those highlighted in the CRS.

In contrast, it is more difficult to evidence coordinated alignment of actions being taken forward nationally and locally that aim to impact outcomes. As evidenced in section 5.2, a number of the actions that Scottish Government cite as being priority policies that will impact the CRS outcomes are not yet at delivery phase. In contrast, section 5.3 showed where alternative actions are being undertaken locally that, while not cited in the CRS, clearly will impact on the CRS outcomes. In addition, section 5.3 gave examples of actions being taken that address some of the non-CRS outcomes which were identified as local priorities.

Through evidence collation, numerous examples were found of actions being taken at a local level. Many were found to found to be pursuant of the outcomes in the CRS, but other were identified as addressing outcomes not noted in the CRS, for example the actions of local authorities to address the climate emergency and the move to Net Zero, or digital inclusion.

This is not to say that actions at either national or local level will not have a positive impact on the outcomes, only that there is not seen to be alignment and coordination of these actions. Actions being taken forward at a local level were most commonly found to be developed through community engagement, delivered in partnership with the third sector or emanate from other national and local strategies that exist. It is to be expected that actions are found to have developed through community engagement since this is a duty on local authorities and CPPs as required by the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, and the Local Government in Scotland Act (2003).

The disparity of prioritisation, along with the complex landscape of interweaving national and local actions results in there not being an observable coordinated collective suite of actions between Scottish Government and Local Government that systematically address the outcomes identified in the CRS.

It was noted in both interaction with Scottish Government policy officials and CPPs that mapping and understand the interdependencies and integration of national and local actions would be invaluable to maximise impact and allow prioritisation.