Scottish local authorities have maintained or improved their performance in the face of various challenges, the council spending watchdog has found.

However, in its 2017 overview, the Accounts Commission today warned public satisfaction was declining and complaints were increasing.

Auditors found some councils had ‘grasped the nettle' in finding new ways to provide services more efficiently, but others have been ‘slower off the mark'.

The report highlighted the long-term decline in Scottish government real terms funding, which makes up around 60% of council income, and pointed to the increasing pressures on services, particularly in social care and education.

In this context, it warned, determining local priorities, overseeing delivery of essential services and working in partnership with other public bodies to improve outcomes would be more difficult.

Councils have made savings by cutting jobs but half of them still do not have organisation-wide workforce plans, the report added.

The Accounts Commission also called on local authorities to learn more from each other and collaborate to improve services and reduce costs.