Provisional (methodology v1.0). Weights and measures may change as more data is added.
Separate leagues. England, Scotland and Wales are measured differently, so a rank in one is not comparable with another. Why. England is stable; Scotland and Wales are provisional.
Council rankings for Scotland
32 councils in Scotland ranked on service quality (60%) and value for money (20%) and financial health (20%), from official open data. How these rankings work.
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- Value for money is weak evidence. Scotland's deprivation index (SIMD) is being rebuilt and is not used, so costs are compared allowing only for population density and the share of residents aged 65 and over.
- There is no measure of special educational needs. Children's services are judged on outcomes (attainment, destinations, looked-after children), not inspection grades.
- Adult social care is run by health and social care partnerships, and in Highland is split between the council and the health board.
- Cities (4 councils) and Islands (3) are too small for a rank within the group to mean much.
- Ombudsman complaint counts are tiny in most councils, so complaints carry half the weight of other services.
| Rank overall | Council | Band | Likely range | Service quality | Value for money | Financial health | Within group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Dunbartonshire | Top quarter | 1st to 2nd | 1 | 6 | 18 | Other councils: 1st of 25 |
| 2 | East Renfrewshire | Top quarter | 2nd to 5th | 2 | 13 | 21 | Other councils: 2nd of 25 |
| 3 | East Lothian | Top quarter | 2nd to 4th | 3 | 5 | 12 | Other councils: 3rd of 25 |
| 4 | Perth and Kinross | Top quarter | 1st to 5th | 4 | 12 | 15 | Other councils: 4th of 25 |
| 5 | Scottish Borders | Top quarter | 4th to 9th | 5 | 3 | 26 | Other councils: 7th of 25 |
| 6 | Falkirk | Top quarter | 4th to 13th | 11 | 8 | 3 | Other councils: 5th of 25 |
| 7 | Stirling | Top quarter | 5th to 12th | 8 | 27 | 11 | Other councils: 12th of 25 |
| 8 | Moray | Top quarter | 4th to 15th | 7 | 1 | 32 | Other councils: 6th of 25 |
| 9 | Angus | Upper middle | 7th to 14th | 9 | 10 | 30 | Other councils: 8th of 25 |
| 10 | Inverclyde | Upper middle | 7th to 14th | 10 | 17 | 25 | Other councils: 9th of 25 |
| 11 | South Ayrshire | Upper middle | 7th to 16th | 6 | 25 | 24 | Other councils: 14th of 25 |
| 12 | West Lothian | Upper middle | 11th to 18th | 12 | 9 | 23 | Other councils: 17th of 25 |
| 13 | North Lanarkshire | Upper middle | 9th to 18th | 13 | 26 | 10 | Other councils: 10th of 25 |
| 14 | Renfrewshire | Upper middle | 7th to 19th | 18 | 11 | 5 | Other councils: 11th of 25 |
| 15 | Aberdeenshire | Upper middle | 10th to 21st | 14 | 14 | 22 | Other councils: 13th of 25 |
| 16 | City of Edinburgh | Upper middle | 10th to 24th | 16 | 15 | 20 | Cities: 1st of 4 |
| 17 | Clackmannanshire | Lower middle | 11th to 23rd | 20 | 4 | 7 | Other councils: 15th of 25 |
| 18 | Orkney Islands | Lower middle | 7th to 24th | 22 | 30 | 1 | Islands: 2nd of 3 |
| 19 | North Ayrshire | Lower middle | 13th to 22nd | 17 | 21 | 6 | Other councils: 16th of 25 |
| 20 | Dumfries and Galloway | Lower middle | 16th to 23rd | 23 | 2 | 14 | Other councils: 19th of 25 |
| 21 | Argyll and Bute | Lower middle | 17th to 23rd | 21 | 16 | 9 | Other councils: 20th of 25 |
| 22 | Na h-Eileanan Siar | Lower middle | 15th to 28th | 15 | 31 | 8 | Islands: 1st of 3 |
| 23 | Aberdeen City | Lower middle | 20th to 28th | 19 | 7 | 31 | Cities: 3rd of 4 |
| 24 | East Ayrshire | Lower middle | 20th to 26th | 25 | 18 | 13 | Other councils: 18th of 25 |
| 25 | Fife | Bottom quarter | 20th to 26th | 24 | 23 | 16 | Other councils: 21st of 25 |
| 26 | Midlothian | Bottom quarter | 21st to 29th | 31 | 22 | 4 | Other councils: 22nd of 25 |
| 27 | South Lanarkshire | Bottom quarter | 25th to 31st | 28 | 19 | 17 | Other councils: 23rd of 25 |
| 28 | Dundee City | Bottom quarter | 26th to 29th | 27 | 20 | 19 | Cities: 2nd of 4 |
| 29 | Highland | Bottom quarter | 26th to 31st | 26 | 28 | 27 | Other councils: 24th of 25 |
| 30 | West Dunbartonshire | Bottom quarter | 28th to 32nd | 29 | 24 | 28 | Other councils: 25th of 25 |
| 31 | Shetland Islands | Bottom quarter | 24th to 32nd | 30 | 32 | 2 | Islands: 3rd of 3 |
| 32 | Glasgow City | Bottom quarter | 30th to 32nd | 32 | 29 | 29 | Cities: 4th of 4 |
Pillar columns show each council's rank out of 32, 1 = best. Rank positions in the middle of the table are sensitive to weighting, so the bands and likely ranges are the more reliable guide.
How sensitive is this ranking?
Each row re-ranks every council with one reasonable change to the method. A correlation near 1 and small moves mean the order is stable.
| Change | Rank correlation | Median move | Largest move |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pillars 50/25/25 | 0.986 | 0 | 4 |
| Pillars 70/15/15 | 0.992 | 1 | 4 |
| Pillars equal thirds | 0.884 | 3 | 10 |
| Equal weight for every service | 0.946 | 2 | 9 |
| No temporary accommodation | 0.993 | 1 | 3 |
| No cap on outliers | 0.964 | 1 | 8 |