The Head of Business & Customer Services and the Marketing & Communications Manager updated members on the review of Scotland Excel’s 5-year strategy and advised that workshops covering the five overarching goals of the strategy had been held with joint committee members, the improvement service, other stakeholders and all Scotland Excel staff.

Members discussed in detail how Scotland Excel should focus on shorter term goals to support Net Zero; in relation to financial stability, how Scotland Excel should consider that financial stability required radical reform and whether Scotland Excel’s role in local, regional and national procurement required to change; in relation to skills, how would Scotland Excel ensure councils had appropriate people skills for the future; in relation to risk management and scenario planning, how Scotland Excel should provide further and ongoing information on potential future scenarios for local government; how Scotland Excel should consider wider community wealth building aims including support for the third sector linked to local government supply chains and how Scotland Excel should be more vocal on what it had achieved and find ways to communicate this more effectively.

There then followed a discussion in relation to the objectives under the headings of Net Zero, financial stability, community wellbeing, Zero Waste Scotland, care – impact of National Care Service on skills requirements and national procurement.

The main points of the discussion were summarised as being: demonstrating risks to members beyond operation work; selling and values; the advancement of skills with a focus on the national framework outcomes; Net Zero; the next steps for procurement beyond McClelland; that Scotland Excel should be bold and more courageous whilst remaining professional. There was also discussion around the timescales for 

DECIDED: 

(a) That the feedback provided be incorporated into the draft Scotland Excel 5-year Strategy which would be recirculated to members for further comment; and

(b) That it be noted that the updated draft Strategy would be presented at the Scotland Excel Executive Sub-committee meeting on 18 November 2022 with a view to presenting the finalised Strategy at the Scotland Excel Joint Committee meeting on 9 December 2022.