Elected Member Briefing - Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) National Benchmarking Overview Report 2024/2025

About this Briefing Note

Report by: Greg Boland, Strategic Lead - Strategic Planning, People and Performance

EMBN Number: 068-26

Date: 9 June 2026

Subject: Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) - National Benchmarking Overview Report 2024/2025

Responsible Officer: Louisa Dott, Strategic Planning, Performance and Risk Management 

Details

Purpose

To summarise the key messages from the National Benchmarking Overview Report 2024/2025 and highlight the potential implications for councils, including Perth and Kinross Council. This briefing summarises findings from the published LGBF report and is intended as a factual overview; it does not provide commentary or new analysis.

Work has been undertaken with Strategic Leads and their management teams to explore the most recent LGBF local data in more detail, and this will inform improvement actions where necessary. 

Source: National Benchmarking Overview Report 2024/2025.pdf

Key national messages

1. Financial pressures are structural and continuing.

• The report notes that, in real terms, local government funding has not kept pace with inflation, demand growth and expanding statutory obligations, which it describes as a structural (rather than short‑term) challenge.
• Uncommitted General Fund balances have fallen below the prudent range, reaching 1.9% of net revenue in 2024/2025, reducing councils' ability to absorb shocks.
• The report states that ring‑fenced and directed funding accounts for around 24% of total revenue funding, which it links to reduced local discretion overspend.
• Capital and debt pressures are rising, particularly in Housing Revenue Accounts, where financing costs now average over 20% of rental income.

2. Workforce sustainability is a key factor for service delivery.

• Workforce costs account for around 69% to 70% of local government expenditure, while overall staffing levels remain below those of twenty years ago.
• Sickness absence is at its highest level in the available series, notably among non‑teaching staff and teaching workforces.
• Recruitment and retention challenges are reported across key service areas including social care, social work, education, planning, and environmental health, alongside an ageing workforce profile.

3. Demand and complexity continue to rise, especially in social care.

• Demand for adult social care continues to grow due to demographic change, with increasing complexity across both older people and working‑age adults.
• Although real‑terms expenditure on adult social care has increased by around 31% since 2010/2011, much of this growth has been absorbed by inflation and pay rather than additional capacity.
• System pressures are evident through rising delayed discharges, hospital readmissions, and indicators of unmet need, reflecting constrained workforce and provider capacity.

4. Performance improvement is slowing under sustained pressure.

• Around two‑thirds of LGBF indicators have improved over the long term, reflecting sustained sector‑led improvement since the framework's introduction.
• More recently, rates of improvement have slowed, with some indicators now stabilising or showing less favourable movement, particularly in intensive and workforce‑dependent services.
• While performance in areas such as education continues to recover following the pandemic, the report highlights rising complexity — including growth in Additional Support Needs, attendance and behaviour pressures — which is increasingly influencing cost, workforce demand and system capacity rather than headline outcomes alone.
• The report indicates that public satisfaction has declined across most services, which it associates with visible service pressures as well as other factors.

5. Poverty-related pressures remain significant.

• Child poverty fell slightly in 2023/2024 but remains above pre‑2015 levels and highly sensitive to economic conditions.
• Demand for Scottish Welfare Fund support and Discretionary Housing Payments remains structurally high despite some easing in application levels.
• Rent arrears have reduced modestly but remain elevated compared to pre‑pandemic baselines, indicating continued affordability pressures.

Additional considerations highlighted in the report

Beyond the headline themes, the report points to a number of broader, cross‑cutting issues that are shaping local government performance and resilience. These include a growing reliance on cost‑control measures alongside longer‑term change activity; increasing variation between councils that the report associates with structural factors such as demography, geography, and labour markets; and the emergence of longer‑term asset condition and infrastructure considerations that may be less visible in the short term.

The report also notes that risk is progressively shifting beyond councils themselves, with greater exposure to workforce availability, provider sustainability and whole‑system dependency across partners and commissioned services.

Potential implications for councils (including Perth and Kinross Council)

Taken together, the LGBF evidence describes a sector operating with limited financial, workforce and system headroom, which the report characterises as a situation where demand and expectations exceed available capacity. For councils, including Perth and Kinross Council, this supports the case for clarity in medium‑term financial and workforce planning, careful prioritisation between statutory, preventative, and discretionary activity, and clear performance narratives that explain both outcomes and constraints. The report underlines the growing value of prevention, partnership working, and service redesign, while recognising that future delivery will be increasingly shaped by external dependencies, workforce availability, and limits on local discretion. 

Next steps

Strategic Leads and their management teams, supported by Business Partners, have undertaken a more detailed review the local LGBF data and key areas highlighted in the national report to identify opportunities for investigation, improvement or service redesign. The Council's Senior Leadership Team (SLT) considered the outcomes of this work at a session held on 30 April 2026. LGBF data, along with other business intelligence, will continue to be used to inform projects/programmes and improvement activity across the Council.

AI tools have been used in the preparation of this briefing. All content has been reviewed against the published LGBF National Benchmarking Overview Report 2024/2025 for accuracy.