Lesley Riddoch: Alarm bells at Sturgeon's '˜New Deal'

Nicola Sturgeon has promised that parents to be able to choose a nursery or childminder that best suits their needs. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

MASTERPLAN to bypass local authorities in favour of our communities is fatally flawed, writes Lesley Riddoch

Brexit and the likely timing of a second independence referendum dominated media coverage of the SNP conference as expected.

But the best politicians are partly conjurers – and Nicola Sturgeon is no exception. Whilst attention was focused on matters constitutional, she appeared to announce the first major piece of privatisation in the short history of the Scottish Parliament. Her speech though transformed it into a piece of good news – the long overdue “childcare revolution”.

Nicola Sturgeon promised to put power in the hands of parents, bypassing local authorities so that “parents will be able to choose a nursery or childminder that best suits their needs and, as long as the provider meets agreed standards, ask the local authority to fund it”. In future, parents will receive funding in a childcare account and use it to buy a nursery place directly.

The word “vouchers” must have gone off in 1,000 heads – but so little detail was given, so much other content packed in and so much goodwill generated for independence in the rest of Ms Sturgeon’s speech it seemed churlish to ponder over one discordant note.

Except that note has been sounding quite regularly of late.

Minutes later Ms Sturgeon promised “an independent, root and branch review” of the care system – presumably not destined to be a council-led process. On Friday, John Swinney hinted at a deal between central government and communities – bypassing councils once again.

“We want to re-invigorate local government by reconnecting it with communities. The principle of local control, not on behalf of a community, but by a community is key… Over the coming Parliament we will go further. We will review the roles and responsibilities of local authorities… We aim to achieve nothing less than to transform our democratic landscape, protect and renew public services and refresh the relationship between citizens, communities and councils. We do this not because it is radical – and it is – but because we believe it is right.”

If this “New Deal” for communities mirrors what’s happening in schools there is ample cause for concern. New cash for head teachers and parent councils to spend has been acquired by top-slicing council tax income – once more bypassing local authority control.

Surely those who’ve argued for more power at community level should be delighted? Surely all who have criticised our existing council structure as super-sized, superannuated, inflexible and bureaucratic must be singing hallelujah?

Actually no – for two big reasons.

First, transforming a system of local government must produce another system – not a patchwork of ad hoc arrangements between central government and unsupported and unelected individuals. Bypassing a faulty system doesn’t transform it.

Second, handing more power to “communities” and favoured citizens – however worthy – is liable to overwhelm volunteers and hand control to unelected gatekeepers and private firms like Serco, always ready and waiting to fill any democratic void.