Swinney's long-overdue reform of Scotland's public sector could be scuppered by a lack of joined-up thinking
Reforms to Scotland’s public sector are long-overdue but are being driven by an unsustainable financial model.
John Swinney has set out his stall to become a great reformer of Scotland’s public sector - but he faces an almighty showdown with trade unions, his political opponents and the harsh reality of having to turn the taps off on an unsustainable financial model.
The First Minister insists his blueprint will lead to a “rewired and reimagined” Scottish state, but at the heart of the reforms is a lack of funding to sustain services at a level Scots have, quite rightly, expected.
A source close to Mr Swinney insisted that “there’s no point doing this if it doesn’t lead to better services”, adding that “this is just the First Minister getting started on his plans to improve outcomes for the country”.
There was an admission there is “a long journey ahead” but there is a deep acknowledgement, after being humbled by opposition parties refusing to back plans for a national care service, that none of this will amount to anything without getting at least some rivals on board for specific plans. Mr Swinney’s strategy needs to be collegiate from the get-go.
Under the proposals, the SNP leader wants local councils to be able to merge if they wish, while loathed NHS boards will be forced to whittle down from 14 to just two - in a west-east split. Quite rightly, Mr Swinney’s plans for local government are not set in stone. They will also be slow-moving with local elections being held in May for councillors to be appointed for five-year terms.
The possibility of reorganising Scotland’s public sector is ambitious and long-overdue, but a lack of joined-up thinking could scupper the planned overhaul.
It is fair to ask why plans to reorganise both local councils and health boards will not be done in sync. Mr Swinney’s proposals have no consideration to make the changes for councils and NHS boards in conjunction with one another.
There will be no opportunity to incorporate local health boards into this new potential local government structure - with NHS management already for the scrapheap.
But given Scotland’s integrated joint boards, which deliver health and social care jointly between councils and the NHS, sit on the same boundaries as local authorities, this could be a real missed opportunity to deliver some much-needed joined-up thinking.
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Scotland’s regional councils have a powerful legacy and there is merit in some of the nation’s regions again pulling in one direction.
But this is not a return to the glory days. We live in different times and any local government reorganisation will be justified on a need to save money to ensure vital services can still be provided.
Hidden amongst Mr Swinney’s vision is a list of nine legislative bills the SNP government intends to bring forward in the next 12 months.
The legislative plans include restated pledges for a misogyny bill and a heat in buildings bill - legislation proposed long before May’s election. The long-promised human rights bill will not see the light of day until at least another year. A symbol of the SNP government’s failure to deliver on commitments that its opponents will seize on as reforms are drawn up.
The SNP’s legacy of reorganisation is underwhelming, with Police Scotland’s creation coming amid a decline in community policing and funding keeping pace with need.
This should be a warning of the incredibly treacherous road ahead, with the bleak fiscal backdrop still the biggest barrier to Mr Swinney’s vision for a public sector that better serves Scotland.
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