A PUBLIC spending watchdog has given East Ayrshire Council the thumbs up.

The Accounts Commission say the council is performing well and improving at a faster rate than other local authorities.

Audit Scotland, who carried out the review during December 2017 and January 2018, added that East Ayrshire has maintained the strong performance reported in previous years.

Council leader Douglas Reid said: “The report rightly recognises our strengths in community planning and partnership working and it acknowledges the strong leadership across the council, with specific mention of the commitment shown by councillors, employees and partner organisations to be inclusive and work together to drive change and transformation.”

Among the key findings of the report was recognition of the council’s ‘effective financial planning arrangements in place and is developing its strategy to tackle the funding gap it faces over the next five years’.

There is also a long established culture of self-assessment and improvement.