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Scottish Government lays out plan to save £1bn within five years


By PA News



The Scottish Government has published a plan to reform public services and save £1 billion by the end of the decade which has been described as “word soup” by opponents.

Public finance minister Ivan McKee has led a drive in the Scottish Government to cut waste, resulting in the publication of a 49-page document on Thursday.

The plan does not explicitly say what parts of the state will be cut, or the number of jobs likely to be lost in the civil service as a result of the changes, but pledges to make public services more efficient and work better together, along with a greater emphasis on prevention.

Ministers can “remove, amalgamate or change the number of public bodies where doing so will increase efficiency, remove duplication and improve service delivery”, the document said.

Public finance minister Ivan McKee announced the strategy on Thursday (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Public finance minister Ivan McKee announced the strategy on Thursday (Andrew Milligan/PA)

The Government hopes any changes to be made will save £1 billion by the end of the decade, the document said, though it is unclear how the Government plans to save the money.

“Over the next five years, we will reduce annualised Scottish Government and public body corporate costs by £1 billion, representing around 20% of the identified public body corporate and core government operating costs,” the report said.

Addressing MSPs, Mr McKee said the Government recognised that, despite increased spending on public services, satisfaction with them has fallen.

“We must rapidly increase the scale and pace of reform, building on the strong foundations we have in Scotland – our shared vision and shared values,” he said.

It is about taking all available opportunities to introduce and embed efficiency through automation, digitisation, estate rationalisation, and changing the delivery landscape
Ivan McKee, public finance minister

“We need to intervene earlier to prevent expensive crisis interventions later.

“This strategy sets out a bold, system-wide approach to changing how we think and how we behave across the public service system. It maximises impact across the whole system, not just in individual organisations.”

He added: “Through the tools at our disposal, the efficiency workstreams in our strategy will reduce identified costs on Scottish Government and public body spend on corporate functions by 20% over the next five years, which equates to an annualised £1 billion cost reduction by 2029-30.

“This will require every part of the public sector to reduce the cost of doing business to prioritise the front line.

“All public bodies are already required to deliver best value, but this is about going further, and faster. It is about taking all available opportunities to introduce and embed efficiency through automation, digitisation, estate rationalisation, and changing the delivery landscape.”

First Minister John Swinney said, this week, it was “inevitable” that the number of civil servants would reduce, a sentiment the minister did not shy away from, saying reductions in the workforce would “continue” in the coming years.

But Mr McKee also heaped praise on public sector staff, saying: “Employees are also key partners – we will not deliver change without you.

“And my message to our staff delivering public services is this: you are at the heart of this change.

“You are the system’s greatest asset.

“This strategy is about trusting and empowering you: to work across boundaries; to focus on what matters; and to shape services with the people you serve.”

Scottish Tory finance spokesman Craig Hoy attacked the announcement, saying: “This 49-page, 14,851 word wish list of word soup on the future of the public services does not mention the word waste once, but it does say that the SNP Government has an ability to deliver real change within the public services.

“Now, I agree with that, they have delivered real change for the worse in Scotland’s public services.”

Mr Hoy pushed Mr McKee on what tangible actions will be taken, as he urged the Government to “start swinging the axe”.

Responding, the minister said: “I think it’s important to understand that if you’re serious about making real change and having delivered transformation programmes in the private sector and elsewhere, you need to understand the drivers that are causing barriers to prevent you doing that.

“Just swinging a big axe isn’t going to deliver services, we’ve seen that across the Atlantic, where Elon Musk, who’s no longer with the Trump administration precisely because he went in with a big axe and started cutting stuff and it immediately backfired because he didn’t know what he was doing.”

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