Accessibility tools
Powered by 
Translate
Use the boxes below to change the website colours.
Visit disclaimer page for more information about the accessibility tool.
Council Plan is progressing well
Year End reporting on North Ayrshire Council’s Council Plan was recently approved by Cabinet.
Developed alongside residents, Our Council Plan 2023-28 describes how the Council works in partnership to fulfil its aim of ‘A North Ayrshire that is fair for all’.
It does this by focusing on four priorities of:
- Wellbeing
- Communities and Local Democracy
- Climate Change and
- A Sustainable Council
The report shows that the Council has made steady progress in the six months between October 2024 and March 2025, with 75 per cent of all performance indicators either on target or close to being on target.
The Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) is used by local authorities across Scotland to compare their performance and learn from each other, with the aim of ensuring transparency and continuous improvements.
This covers a wide range of areas from the gender pay gap and timely payment of invoices to investment in roads and recycling rates.
When it comes to the LGBF data up to June 2025, the Council is performing well – with 17 of its 33 priority indicators in the top half of all local authorities.
Key highlights in the Our Council Plan Year End Progress Report include:
- Recent statistics from the End Child Poverty Coalition showing that child poverty within North Ayrshire decreased from 29.2 per cent in 2022/23 to 24.3 per cent in 2023/24. The 4.9 percentage point reduction was the largest in Scotland
- During 2024/2025, the welfare rights and money advice service, recently renamed and branded as Money Smart, received 5,842 referrals and secured £21.5 million in financial gains for residents through income maximisation
- The Council was chosen as one of three Scottish local authorities that are collaborating with health experts on ways to improve health and well-being for residents. Over the next two years – through the Collaboration for Health Equity in Scotland (CHES) – work will be done in partnership with Public Health Scotland and the Institute for Health Equity to help people live longer, healthier lives
- As one of Scotland’s Fairer Future Partnerships (FFP) we established our new Child Poverty Strategy Team (CPST) in January to reduce poverty by working directly with our communities and local organisations
- Two pioneering Council-owned solar PV farms, at Netherman’s and Shewalton, are installed and ready for the next phase of being connected to the electrical grid. These should generate income of £400,000 annually for 25 years
- A £17.4m award from the Levelling Up Fund was secured from the UK to support commercial and low-carbon infrastructure and
- The outcome of a Best Value Thematic Audit, by Audit Scotland, was positive after examining the Council’s workforce plans to explore how it is responding to workforce challenges through building capacity, increasing productivity and innovation.
The work and services that are outlined in the Council Plan are central to ensuring we achieve a North Ayrshire that is fair for all.
Quote: Staff across all services are continuing to progress a lot of good work that has a positive impact on residents’ lives. As a local authority, our aim is always to make life better for people living across North Ayrshire and this year-end report demonstrates that we are making progress. It is particularly encouraging to see that there has been a 4.9 percentage point reduction in child poverty. We still have a long way to go when it comes to improving life for many of our children, and we will continue to make this a priority by supporting low-income families.
Quote from: Councillor Marie Burns, Leader of North Ayrshire Council
Cabinet approved the Council Plan Year End Progress Report when it met recently, and this will be presented to the Audit and Scrutiny Committee for consideration in November.
To read the full Year End reports, please go online here. To read the Council Plan, please go online here. To watch a summary video, please visit our YouTube channel.
Published: 19 September 2025