The Scottish Government

« Previous | Contents | Next »

Listen

The Scottish Executive: Draft Budget 2004-05 Summary

Chapter 11 Finance and Public Services

The overall aims of the Finance and Public Services portfolio are to:

• plan and prudently manage the public finances;
• deliver excellence in public services;
• support growing Scotland's economy;
• create a framework in which accountable local democracy can flourish; and
• promote Scotland in Europe and across the world.

OBJECTIVES AND TARGETS

Objective 1: To secure, with local government, improvement in local authority services and improvement in the wider public sector.

• Target 1: By April 2004, have in place a new framework for monitoring the delivery of local services through Best Value, to ensure all councils are delivering sustained improvements across their service responsibilities.
• Target 2: Provide local authorities with the stability of 3-year grant allocations and resources to support existing services and new priority policy initiatives.
• Target 3: Establish by 2004-05 a new framework for local authority capital investment, supporting better investment decisions, long-term planning and increased levels of investment in local infrastructure.
• Target 4: Review the boundaries of public sector organisations that deliver services to identify areas where the creation of coterminous boundaries would facilitate their co-operative work.
• Target 5: Following consultation with COSLA, conduct an independent review into local government finance.
• Target 6: By 2004, implement the protocol which ends the two-tier workforce and protects workers who are transferred to new employers under contracts for the delivery of public services.

Objective 2: To secure further progress on the improvement of local governance.

• Target 7: By 2006, to have secured a statutory basis for Community Planning and a Power of Well-being, issued accompanying guidance and developed best practice in both and taken appropriate action on renewing local democracy.
• Target 8: Reform voting arrangements in order to increase participation, including further investigation of postal and electronic voting.
• Target 9: Introduce for the next local government elections the proportional Single Transferable Vote system of election.

Objective 3: To secure better public service delivery, including access to information, through a citizen-focused approach.

• Target 10: Ensure services are available through Broadband technology in the Pathfinder areas of south of Scotland and Highlands and Islands by 2004.
• Target 11: By 2005, provide online all government services which can feasibly be delivered electronically.
• Target 12: By 2006, develop a Scottish electronic citizen's card available to all citizens, which will give them faster and more convenient access to public information and services.

Objective 4: To advance Scotland's place in Europe and the wider world by maximising Scotland's influence within the European Union, building on mutually-beneficial links with other countries and regions, and promoting Scotland abroad.

• Target 13: Promote Scotland abroad, in close co-operation with the FCO, British Council and other key delivery partners.
• Target 14: Work to represent Scotland in the EU, both directly and through the strength of the UK Government.
• Target 15: Expand the constructive role of Scotland within the European Union through collaboration with other legislative regions and nations.
• Target 16: Build on the interest the Scottish Parliament has generated by forging links with new EU member states and developing countries.
• Target 17: Engage positively as a member of the British-Irish Council.

Objective 5: To support national and local accountability and better informed policy and decision-making particularly in the four key aims of the Partnership Agreement, by maintaining and developing the range and quality of economic analysis, social research and statistics.

• Target 18: Demonstrate year-on-year improvements in the evidence base held by the Executive and in its use.
• Target 19: By September 2004, provide Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics data and analysis at a small area level to inform local and national decision-making.

Table 11.01 Spending plans (level 2)

¹ This includes 23.83 million/23.83 million/23.83 million of UK Government funding that falls outside TME.

What the budget does

The Finance & Public Services portfolio works to improve the delivery of public services for the benefit of those who use them; providing direction and support for local leaders and managers and working with them in the drive for reform and modernisation. It also supports conditions for wealth creation that benefit all the people of Scotland.

Grant funding to local government accounts for the largest share of our spending. This delivers improvements across the range of local authorities' responsibilities, including education, community care, transport and quality of life. We also support local leaders as well as the wider public sector in their efforts to achieve further innovation and reform via the Modernising Government Fund.

The Scottish Public Pensions Agency administers public sector pension schemes, providing a timely, accurate and helpful service to members and their employees.

Portfolio priorities

In 2004-05 we will focus resources on:

• developing a new framework for monitoring the delivery of local services through Best Value, to ensure all councils are delivering sustained improvements across their service responsibilities;
• reforming the control of local authority capital investment to enable better investment decisions, long-term planning and increased levels of investment in local infrastructure;
• following consultation with COSLA, conducting an independent review into local government finance;
• securing a statutory basis for Community Planning and a Power of Well-being, issuing accompanying guidance and developing best practice in both;
• promoting our Quality of Life initiative to drive through improvements in the delivery of local services which impact on people's quality of life;
• reforming voting arrangements in order to increase participation, including further investigation of postal and electronic voting;
• introducing for the next local government elections the proportional Single Transferable Vote system of election;
• limiting increases in business rates to no more than inflation;
• developing a Scottish electronic citizen's card available to all citizens, which will give them faster and more convenient access to public information and services;
• with other portfolio Ministers, extending broadband connectivity for every area of Scotland to ensure Scotland's competitiveness, both internally and internationally, in both public and private sectors;
• maximising the benefit for Scotland of the First Minister's leadership of the EU group of regions with legislative power (REG-LEG);
• promoting Scottish interests in the Convention on the Future of Europe and subsequent inter-governmental conferences; and
• promoting Scotland in Europe and the wider world.

New resources

Additional provision has been made for modernising the teaching profession, fire, police, the rough sleepers initiative, free school meals, residential allowance, Bellwin Scheme, specific grants for mental illness and the extension of the Stop Now Orders under the Enterprise Act 2002. Resources have been transferred to other portfolios for Scottish Public Services Ombudsman and special educational needs. The net effects of these changes are increases of 60.37 million/37.02 million/49.05 million.

The Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics budget of 2.49 million/2.65 million/2.65 million has been transferred from the Social Justice portfolio.

The External Relations budget has been added to the portfolio. Responsibility for External Relations was previously part of the Justice Portfolio. Additional provision has been made for the Fresh Talent Initiative - 1m/1m/1m.

Due to increased receipts in respect of teachers' superannuation and a reduction in the cost of capital, SPPA expenditure will decrease by 2.14 million/3.42 million/3.86 million.

Closing the opportunity gap

The portfolio makes a significant contribution towards taking forward the Executive's priorities for closing the opportunity gap. Disadvantaged communities tend to depend on public services more than other communities, for example for public transport and community education. Community Planning is encouraging local authorities and other local agencies to work together to tackle deprivation and to involve communities in funding decisions. The Modernising Government Fund is focused on improving access to public services and information, from which people experiencing deprivation, for example because of poor health or limited reading skills, can benefit.

Sustainable development

Local authorities also play an important role in ensuring a more sustainable Scotland. We expect local authorities to include consideration of sustainable development as a key component of their work to secure continuous improvement. Local authorities' new power to advance well-being, and the statutory under-pinning of Community Planning, will enable local authorities and their partners to work together in a more holistic way that supports sustainable development. The new prudential system for local authority capital funding will require authorities to plan investment more strategically and take a more rigorous approach to asset management. As part of these arrangements, we will encourage local authorities to build sustainable development into their investment appraisals and planning. Modernising Government Fund projects help to reduce or eliminate the need to travel to access public information, advice or services, for example through contact centres, "one-stop shops" and videoconferencing.

« Previous | Contents | Next »