Cost-cutting 'blocked by civil servants as a show of their virility'

Published on Sunday 28 October 2007 01:19

A SENIOR minister from Jack McConnell's former administration has blown the whistle on a culture of waste at the heart of Scottish Government, revealing how his colleagues were routinely manipulated by senior civil servants who demanded cash for their departments purely "as a symbol of their virility".

In an astonishing insight into the workings of the civil service, Tom McCabe, who was finance minister in the old Labour and Liberal Democrat Executive, said that value for taxpayers' money at the highest levels of Government was often put to one side as department chiefs fought turf wars to protect their own budgets.

Record increases in cash flooding north of the Border after devolution in 1999 ensured ministers did not have the political will to do anything about it, he added.

But with the increases slowing down, McCabe said that Scotland desperately required a new 'Scottish Treasury' with the clout to get tough on spending departments that continue to squander cash without proper scrutiny.

He spoke out as the new SNP administration prepares to unveil its own budget in two weeks, with ministers warning they may not be able to make ends meet.

Speaking to MSPs last week, McCabe said: "We require less of a defensive approach from certain senior civil servants who see defending the budgets that are within their remit almost as a virility symbol... or as a symbol of their own importance."

He told Scotland on Sunday that when ministers wanted to save money, senior civil servants would block them.

"They are adept at saying [to ministers] 'that is a decision for you, but what will it look like if you sacrifice your budget?' They use politicians cleverly. There are senior civil servants who see it as in their interests to get a minister to go native as much as possible."

McCabe said that the situation was still on-going because of the lack of checks and balances in the Scottish Government on whether or not certain projects still needed to be funded.

Also, because of the sheer volume of extra money heading north during the last Executive's time in office, he said there was little or no incentive for McConnell's ministers to be more careful.

"There wasn't the will to move on this," McCabe said. "That was because of the very attractive financial settlement that was there."

McCabe was speaking as fresh scrutiny is being placed on the way the Scottish Government spends the 30bn budget it receives, mostly from Whitehall.

A landmark report this year found that as much as 1bn a year could be saved by cutting waste and introducing reforms.

The Howat report - commissioned by McCabe but published by the SNP Government - accuses the Scottish administration of basic failures in financial accountability and organisation.

Speaking to MSPs last week, the report's authors said that a Treasury-style minister was needed if the SNP was not to fall into the same trap as the previous administration.