COUNCILLORS "remain concerned" about high staff absence levels at Fife Council.

They are one of the "poorer performing" local authorities in Scotland on this issue and the scrutiny committee was told a number of measures are being tried.

In 2017-18, the average working days lost per full time employee at the council was 11.82, with some services, such as health and social care, much higher.

Councillor Tim Brett, the Scrutiny Committee convener, said: "We remain concerned about absence levels as Fife is one of the poorer performing councils in this respect.

"However, we recognise that many factors contribute to attendance rates and that there is no quick solution to the issue".

He added: “The council has embarked on some long-term measures to change behaviours and the overall culture in the workplace, so improvements are expected to be incremental.

"We have asked for a further report to be produced for the committee in autumn so that we can continue to scrutinise the council’s progress.”

The measures include skills development for line managers, particularly equipping them for difficult conversations with team members, introducing self-referral for counselling support, new approaches about mental health and the promotion of physical activity.