Commission in Scotland calls for new statutory powers and duties for public bodies
A new set of statutory powers and duties – common to all public service bodies and focussed on improving outcomes – should be introduced in Scotland, the Commission on the Future of Delivery of Public Services has recommended.
These new duties should include a presumption in favour of preventative action and tackling inequalities, the Christie Commission said.
The Commission was established in November 2010 to examine how Scotland’s public services could be delivered in future.
Other key recommendations in its report include:
- “Making provision in the proposed Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill to embed community participation in the design and delivery of services
- Forging a new concordat between the Scottish Government and local government to develop joined-up services, backed by funding arrangements requiring integrated provision
- Implementing new inter-agency training to reduce silo mentalities, drive forward service integration and build a common public service ethos
- Devolving competence for job search and support to the Scottish Parliament to achieve the integration of service provision in the area of employability
- Giving Audit Scotland a stronger remit to improve performance and save money across all public service organisations and merging the functions of the Auditor General and the Accounts Commission
- Applying commissioning and procurement standards consistently and transparently to achieve competitive neutrality between suppliers of public services
- Reviewing specific public services in terms of the difference they make to people's lives, in line with the reform criteria set out [by the Commission].”
The Commission said Scotland's public services were in need of urgent and sustained reform to meet “unprecedented” challenges.
It found that public spending was not expected to return to 2010 levels in real terms for 16 years, while new demographic and social pressures would entail a huge increase in the demand for public services. The economic downturn will also intensify and prolong demand, the report said.
“Unless Scotland embraces a radical, new, collaborative culture throughout our public services, both budgets and provision will buckle under the strain,” it said.
The Commission added that social and economic inequalities on most measures had remained unchanged or become more pronounced, despite a series of Scottish Government initiatives and significant growth in public spending since devolution.
“Tackling these fundamental inequalities and focussing resources on preventative measures must be a key objective of public service reform,” the report said.
The Commission said it had received considerable evidence demonstrating serious shortcomings in the capacity of public services as presently organised to deliver better outcomes.
“The public service system is often fragmented, complex and opaque, hampering the joint working between organisations which we consider to be essential,” it said, adding that the system as a whole was ‘top down’ and unresponsive.
Addressing the systemic defects required a fundamental overhaul of the relationships within and between those institutions and agencies – public, third sector and private – responsible for designing and delivering public services.
Any reform of organisational boundaries should also be 'bottom up' - based on the reality of delivering front-line services - rather than 'top down', or solely motivated by the desire to make savings, the Commission concluded.
The report acknowledged that the Scottish Government would be confronted with stark choices about priorities, and that many issues – such as achieving a radical shift towards preventative public spending – would be contentious.
Scotland’s Finance Secretary, John Swinney, said the Scottish Government was determined to deliver an ambitious reform programme.
"That is why the Christie Commission's report is both timely and important,” he said. “It recognises that much has been done, but rightly argues that further fundamental reforms must now be considered and urgently progressed.
"We recognise that a co-ordinated view needs to be taken across Government. The Cabinet Sub Committee on public service reform will meet….to shape and take forward our plans."
