This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Change and public services
02/12/2005
The Executive is determined to step up the pace of reform in Scotland to ensure our public services are as efficient and effective as possible, a conference of the public sector union Unison was told in Glasgow today.
Minister for Finance and Public Services Tom McCabe stressed that the status quo is not an option and that public services had to change and move forward through a dialogue with the public sector.
The Executive has no set ideas about what future structures may be, Mr McCabe said. He continued:
"We pledged to reform public services around the needs and expectations of the people who use them, to tackle bureaucracy, simplify funding and ensure services are flexible and focused.
"There is no doubt we are already some way towards achieving these objectives - but now we need to step up the pace and scope of change in order to achieve our shared ambition.
"There is no justification for the knee-jerk reaction that the status quo works perfectly well and there is no need to look for improvements. Let me be clear about this - the status quo simply is not an option as public services need to move forward and they need to change.
"We cannot stand still, because the expectations for, and demands on, our public services do not themselves stand still. That is why early next year we will be publishing a discussion paper to tackle these issues - I want to work in partnership with the whole public sector in Scotland to step up the pace of reform. It will be a genuine dialogue - we have no set ideas about what future structures may emerge.
"There is much to be proud of across Scotland's public sector. But we cannot rest on our laurels - we must continue to move forward, seeking out best practice, being innovative and imaginative. But now we need to go further and I believe we need to go faster."