‘Devil will be in the detail’ of public sector reform, says watchdog

The “devil will be in the detail” of the Scottish Government’s plans for public sector reform, the Auditor General has said.

In recent years, the Government has stressed the need to reform public services as it deals with a projected near-£5 billion black hole in the budget by the end of the decade.

Following the election, First Minister John Swinney appointed Ivan McKee as the Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform to drive the agenda, but a concrete plan for how change will come has yet to be laid out.

Mr McKee has insisted there will not be cuts and job losses, despite plans to reduce the public sector workforce.

In a blog post on Monday, Stephen Boyle, the head of watchdog Audit Scotland, wrote: “I believe that change is possible.

“That public service reform in Scotland, if done well, can ensure government is able to provide effective and sustainable public services in the future.

“But we now need tangible action and at pace.

“Setting out that goals will be achieved by the end of this parliament will not be enough.

“Ministers need to explain to the public and the Scottish Parliament what stepping stones will be taken so that they get there.

“And the devil will be in the detail of those delivery plans.

“Without clear priorities, robustly costed and adequately resourced policies, agreed delivery timelines, and well understood measures of success, meaningful reform will be difficult to deliver.”

Scottish Labour finance spokesman – and leadership candidate – Michael Marra accused ministers of “simply not being honest with the public”.

“The Auditor General is right to point out that this SNP government has not set out a clear and detailed plan about the level of spending in Scotland over the medium to long term,” he said.

“We know that there are significant financial challenges facing the country, particularly around how to close the £5 billion black hole by the end of the decade.

“SNP ministers are simply not being honest with the public.

“They make pre-election promises, with uncosted gimmicks, and yet have no idea about how to fund them.

“Time and again, the SNP fail to deliver on their pledges, while taxpayers are left to pick up the tab for the ever-increasing spending and public services are neglected.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat public service reform spokesman David Green pushed for decentralisation.

“Instead of reforming public services, the SNP have ploughed ahead with centralising them,” he said.

“The centralisation of bodies like Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service have failed to deliver many of the benefits that were promised.

“It has also been extremely harmful to local communities across the country, which now have less control over decisions that directly affect their area.

“What’s more, the decision to scrap the medium-term financial strategy is symbolic of a government that doesn’t really know where it is going.

“Real reform should push power closer to communities and deliver excellent value for money, neither of which the SNP are known for.”

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.