Public sector too big, admits McConnell

JACK McConnell admitted last night that Scotland’s public sector was too big and something needed to be done about it.

But the First Minister insisted that the solution was to increase the size of the private sector, not shrink the public sector.

Mr McConnell was speaking at a special conference to mark the end of a series of high-profile lectures, the Allander series, on the economy.

The Executive has been criticised for concentrating on the public sector, which employs 25-30 per cent of the working population, rather than concentrating on nurturing private business.

The First Minister tackled this issue last night by conceding that the balance between the public and private sectors was wrong and suggesting ways of rectifying that. He said: "The size of Scotland’s public sector, compared to the size of the private sector, is too big.

"We need to rebalance Scotland’s economy - not by shrinking the public sector, but by growing the private sector."

And he added: "It is the government’s job to invest in a framework for growth: in skills, research and development, entrepreneurial dynamism, and infrastructure. But there is a growing acceptance that improving public sector productivity is vital too. Not just to get value for taxpayers’ money - important though that is - but increasing public sector productivity will be a driver for economic growth."

Mr McConnell’s remarks appeared to be a careful compromise, conceding the importance of a growing private sector but insisting that the public sector could help power that growth.