Verity House Agreement: stocktake - one year on

1. The Verity House Agreement (VHA) commits that:

By the end of August 2024, we will have jointly considered the first year of implementation of the Verity House Agreement and the Fiscal Framework as a whole, and agreed any alterations or addendums required to ensure the ongoing effectiveness of these two key documents.

While this commitment envisaged that the Fiscal Framework would also be operational and therefore reviewed as part of this process, both parties agree that while work continues to deliver that Framework, a review of the VHA at this juncture is helpful.

This paper has sought views from across the Scottish Government and COSLA, as the representative body for Scottish Local Government, and focuses on the areas most directly linked to the three shared priorities.

The aim of this paper is to draw out and reflect on the successes and challenges related to the operation of the VHA. It identifies the good practice and different ways of working which have supported improved relationships and delivery on our shared priorities, either during this first year or historically. The paper also looks at areas of change which could ensure the ongoing effectiveness of the VHA.