Strategic Finance

Head of Service: Bruce West

The service purpose is to maintain high standards of financial management and control whilst contributing to corporate management and leadership and supporting officers and members in an effective and responsive manner. It does this through provision of accounting and budgeting services, treasury management and internal audit. The Head of Strategic Finance is the council’s chief financial officer. The service is also responsible for risk management.

Improvement and Human Resources -

Head of Service: Jane Fowler

Improvement and Human Resources (IHR) provides a range of professional services ranging from internal corporate services to external support services.
The HR team offers services internally to council employees and externally through its recruitment section to those considering working for Argyll and Bute Council. IHR also provides the council’s corporate communications function, its improvement and organisational development, planning and performance, as well as health and safety and emergency planning. The service also ensures a strong link with partner organisations through its community planning function in order to ensure that partners are working effectively together for the benefit of the people of Argyll and Bute.

Adult Care

Head of Service: Jim Robb

The adult social work service is structured around four main service areas

• The provision of resources to vulnerable adults and older people including residential care services, day centre provision and home care
• The assessment and care management function carried out by area team staff in relation to older people
• The provision of support to adults with a learning disability
• The provision of support to adults who have a mental health difficulty

Children and Families

Head of Service: Louise Long

The Argyll and Bute Children and Families Service directly provides or commissions support, protection and care for vulnerable children, young people and their families.

Education

Head of Service: Carol Evans

The Education Service provides the following services throughout Argyll and Bute:

• 3-18 education
• Curriculum for Excellence 3-18
• Pupil support services
• Psychological services
• HMIE post and pre inspection support
• Educational ICT

School reviews

Community and Culture

Head of Service: Donald MacVicar

Community and Culture provides the following range of services throughout Argyll and Bute: housing services, culture and libraries, leisure and youth services, community, development, adult learning.

Roads and Amenity Services

Head of Service: Jim Smith

The Service is vital to allowing for the safe and convenient movement of people and goods across our geographically diverse and sparsely populated area, which relies on a mix of rail, bus, ferry and air services to provide for a variety of urban, rural and island communities. In addition it aims to improve the physical appearance of Argyll and Bute

Economic Development

Head of Service: Robert Pollock

Economic Development Services aims to ‘unlock the potential of Argyll and Bute’s significant sustainable economic assets for the benefit of its communities and the competitiveness and security of the Scottish and EU economies.

Planning and Regulatory Services

Head of Service: Angus Gilmour

Planning and Regulatory Services is an outward looking service which seeks to harness development opportunities, support businesses, protect the public and improve the economic, social and environmental well being of the area by ensuring development takes place in a sustainable manner. The service has a major part to play in achieving international, national and local objectives through the delivery of its five key statutory functions: Development Management, Building Standards, Development Policy, Environmental and Animal Health and Trading Standards.

Governance and Law

Head of Service: Charles Reppke

Governance and Law provide a range of largely, but not exclusively, internal services e.g. support to Council Services, Councillors and the framework against which the corporate objectives of the Council and Community Planning are pursued. It includes Legal Services: Commercial and Corporate and has responsibility for delivering elections and support to Community Councils.

Customer and Support Services

Head of Service: Judy Orr

Customer and Support Services provides a range of first line contact facilities for council customers for a growing range of services through a network of customer service points in all the main towns, a telephony based service and the council’s web site. It is also responsible for collection of local taxes, administering housing and council tax benefits and registration of births, deaths and marriages. It also provides a range of services to internal council departments including provision of ICT, payroll and creditor payments, procurement and commissioning of goods and services.

Facility Services

Head of Service: Malcolm MacFadyen

Facility Services provides a range of support to all other Council Services through teams which manage assets, catering, cleaners, janitors, pool cars, school transport, property design and improvement, property maintenance, energy consumption and estates services. The service has responsibility for the Council’s Corporate Asset Management processes together with the design and delivery of property related capital projects. In addition, Facility Services manages and supports public transport contracts and community transport initiatives.