CLACKMANNANSHIRE Council has a “clear vision” for the future, an external audit has reported.

The council were found to maintain a streamlined approach to monitoring performance within political and officer leadership.

The Best Value report was presented to councillors during last week’s meeting on Thursday, August 29 as part of the audited annual accounts.

Among the key messages in the report included – the council engaging with citizens and communities when developing priorities, reducing inequalities and climate change commitments.

The report also found that the council leadership – both political and officer – had been effective in setting priorities, but called on them to work on providing sustainable solutions to working towards their goals.

Further improvement actions have been relayed to the council to make.

Council leader Cllr Ellen Forson said: “The auditors take a robust approach to looking into our financial management and our plans to deal with the increasingly difficult financial decisions we have to make, so I’m very pleased to see the many positives in this report.

“There is a recognition of the really positive work that has been ongoing in the council to plan for the future, with clear and measurable objectives.

“We’ve been able to achieve this by working across political parties and having productive relationships between elected members and officers.

“Like all public bodies, we are continuing to face difficult financial constraints, that require us to think innovatively and make some hard decisions.

“This confirmation that we are making good progress from external auditors is pleasing, but we know that we still have further to go and we will be working to follow the advice on where we can make further improvements.”