Minister announces £1bn in savings to be redirected to frontline services

The Scottish Government has launched a brand new public service reform strategy to make £1bn of savings in the next five years.

Ivan McKee set out a range of reforms to Scotland’s public sector on Thursday as he aims to make it efficient and fit for the future.

He said spending from “back office costs” will be cut by 20%, with the cash being redirected to frontline services.

By 2029-30, the Government estimates this will amount to £1bn a year in savings, freeing up cash in areas such as the NHS.

“This will require every part of the public sector to reduce the cost of doing business to prioritise the frontline,” McKee said.

“The aim is to do things better, not do less.”

McKee said the Scottish Government will achieve the savings through a combination of automation, digitisation, estate rationalisation, and workforce reform.

Among the 80 actions set out in Mr McKee’s reforms include changes to the culture of the public sector and those in charge of it.

The number of public bodies will be reduced to drive a more efficient system alongside a new review of public sector buildings.

The minister said the Government will embrace automation and new technology to digitise government.

‘Public service reform misses the mark’

The Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) criticised the strategy of “missing the mark”.

“Whenever government ministers speak of public sector ‘efficiencies’, workers anxiously hold their breath,” said STUC general secretary Roz Foyer.

“These cuts, prepacked as reforms, miss the mark entirely. Simply put: you can’t fix public services by cutting the very people who keep them running. Talk of reducing headcount while NHS waiting times spiral, A&E departments are overwhelmed and social care is in crisis is as reckless as it is illogical.”

She said Scotland deserves public services that are properly funded, and “not an overreliance on technology to plug staffing shortages”.

“The reality is that Scotland’s fiscal future demands honesty and ambition. Instead of chasing cuts disguised as reform, ministers should be adopting progressive tax policies that can raise the revenue we need,” Ms Foyer said.

“Before racing ahead with changes, the Scottish Government must engage in serious dialogue with the trade union movement. We’ve been clear: we will not support any programme that threatens jobs, conditions or the quality of the services our communities rely on. That position remains the same.”

The Tory shadow secretary for finance slammed the reforms as a “wish-list of word soup that fails to mention waste once”.

“Despite the SNP saying we were reckless for proposing fully costed tax cuts worth £500m, they now claim they can save £1bn by merely slashing corporate functions,” MSP Craig Hoy said.

“There is still an astonishing lack of detail as to where these savings will be made, or what quangos will be axed. The public simply will not trust the SNP to suddenly tackle the enormous waste they have presided over.”

Daniel Johnson, Scottish Labour’s finance spokesman, said he welcomed the “overall sentiment” but feared it amounted to “a plan for a plan”.

He said Thursday’s statement was “an acknowledgement that we have a billion pounds worth of waste”.

He added: “Reform, to my mind, is not about shrinking the state, but maximising its effectiveness and you cannot ignore the fact that over the past decade, the civil service has grown at three times the rate of the NHS, while police, fire and colleges’ headcounts have all fallen.”