This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Government improvement service appointment
30/06/2004
The Chief Executive of the improvement service for local
government and its partners in Scotland has been
appointed.
Colin Mair, Director of the Scottish Local Authority
Management Centre at Strathclyde University, will take over
as its first Chief Executive.
The new service is being set up to play an important
role in enhancing standards in the delivery of public
services. It aims to support, promote and assist in the
delivery of top-quality public services by learning,
sharing and delivering improvement solutions.
The Improvement Service is a partnership between the
Executive, COSLA and SOLACE. Minister for Finance and
Public Services Andy Kerr said:
"The improved delivery of public services is a priority
for the Executive and local government. The appointment of
Colin Mair as Chief Executive is another big step forward
towards establishing the service.
"I have no doubt Colin will prove to be a dedicated and
hard-working Chief Executive and I wish him every success.
His in-depth knowledge and experience of local government
will prove invaluable in driving up standards in the
delivery of public services.
"Many of the services provided by local government
are delivered well but we know we can do better. That is
the aim of the service - working closely with local
authorities to ensure the improved delivery of frontline
services focused on the needs of the people who use
them."
Mr Mair said:
"I am delighted and excited to be given the opportunity
to work with councils across Scotland in improving local
services. The key job of the new service is to support and
drive forward the improvement work which is already taking
place and make sure that innovation and improvement in
individual councils and their partners in service delivery,
is captured and made available to all.
"Council services in Scotland are incredibly wide
ranging and impact on almost every aspect of our lives. The
range of services which councils provide, often through
Community Planning, makes improvement a major challenge but
it also makes it worthwhile. I look forward to an effective
partnership with all organisations involved in the delivery
of local services."
Welcoming Colin Mair's appointment, COSLA President Pat
Watters said:
"Colin Mair's appointment is most welcome. He is a
first-class choice and has exactly the right pedigree in
terms of his wealth of knowledge about local government and
indeed across the public sector. Colin is exactly the sort
of person to head up the Improvement Service in Scotland
and that is why we welcome his appointment and the
opportunities that the service will give to local
government and the services it provides." SOLACE Chairman
Douglas Sinclair said: "The appointment of Colin Mair has
been widely welcomed by chief executives and senior
managers, given Colin's wide knowledge and understanding of
the challenges and opportunities facing local
government."
The chief executive has been appointed to lead and
establish the new improvement service. Once the post of
chief executive is taken up, his early tasks are to
complete the operational business plan for the service,
based on the already published business framework; quickly
bring the new service into operation; take forward the
improvement service commitment to driving forward the
skills capacity for local government; develop knowledge
management approaches for building a learning culture in
local government and its partners by building on shared
experience and good practice. The salary for this post is
£80,115.
The recruitment of the chief executive was co-ordinated
by an independent recruitment consultant, working closely
with Scottish Executive, COSLA and SOLACE as partner
organisations. Advertisements were placed in national
papers and professional journals, and a rigorous sifting,
interviewing and testing process was put in place to
achieve the best candidate for this post.