This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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New projects promise efficiency savings
08/12/2006
More than £13 million has been allocated to two projects designed to deliver efficiency savings and improved public services.
The efficiency projects are:
- £11.35 million to Scottish universities and colleges in partnership with the Scottish Funding Council to establish a Centre of Expertise for procurement and adopt the award-winning eProcurement Scotland system across the further and higher education sector
- £1.85 million to a partnership led by the Scottish Court Service to introduce Fines Enforcement Officers. They will work to increase the number of fines collected and reduce pressure on the Scottish justice system as part of the overall plans for Summary Justice Reform
Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform Tom McCabe said:
"This funding will help the Scottish Court Service and the further and higher education sector to deliver more efficient and effective public services, improve services and contribute to Efficient Government targets.
"The Efficient Government initiative is a key part of our drive to ensure we invest taxpayers' money as wisely as possible. All of the money saved through measures such as better procurement, streamlined processes and better use of resources will be invested in improving service delivery.
"These projects have met rigorous and robust criteria to demonstrate they will lead to long-term substantial benefits and savings for both the public sector and the people of Scotland."
Minister for Justice Cathy Jamieson added:
"Collecting fines reliably and efficiently is essential for an effective criminal justice system. We have developed the new model using Fines Enforcement Officers as part of the overall reforms of summary justice to ensure that front line police time and court time are not being wasted pursuing late payment of fines.
"I am delighted that support from the Efficiency and Reform Fund will allow the Scottish Court Service to introduce the new officers quickly."
The two projects
- The project led by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) will aim to set up a Centre of Expertise for procurement to implement the eProcurement Scotland system across all 62 SFC universities and colleges. This will enhance procurement practice at all levels and lead to greater efficiencies in the further and higher education sector.
- The Collection and Enforcement of Court Fines project will include recruiting and training Fines Enforcement Officers to collect fines, apply appropriate enforcement measures and offer advice to those who have genuine difficulty paying fines. The project extends to enforcement of other financial penalties, including fiscal fines and some types of fixed penalty fines. This will lead to great efficiencies by reducing the burden on courts and increasing the number of fines collected on time. A similar scheme in England and Wales increased the number of fines collected from 55 per cent to 80 per cent in two years.
The Executive will provide 75 per cent (the maximum available) of the funding required for each in return for a commitment to deliver improved service delivery and greater efficiencies over the lifetime of the project.
Specifically
The partnership between the SFC and further and higher education sector is expected to deliver estimated savings of more than £40 million per year by 2011. It will lead to increased procurement expertise, capacity and quality of service through a more consistent approach to procurement.
The Scottish Courts Service project is expected to deliver estimated savings of more than £3 million per year by 2011. It will ensure that frontline police time and court time is not wasted pursuing late payment of fines and lead to faster processing of cases; and
The Executive has identified £1.271 billion in efficiency savings so far, towards its target of £1.5 billion in efficiency savings by 2007-08
Today's announcement is the second and final tranche of funding to be awarded from the Efficiency and Reform fund (previously known as the Efficient Government Fund).
It follows two projects funded earlier this year:
- £1.29 million towards the implementation of a tripartite collaboration to provide fleet services across all Police, Fire and Rescue and Ambulance services within Scotland
- £5.37 million towards the provision of a Common Performance Management Platform for the Police Service in Scotland. This will lead to enhanced levels of consistency, transparency and accountability to deliver greater efficiency savings