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Building a Better Scotland
Efficient Government - Securing Efficiency, Effectiveness and Productivity
Growing The Economy • Excellent Public Services • Stronger, Safer Communities • A Confident, Democratic Scotland
MINISTERIAL FOREWORD
By Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform
Since 1999, there has been an unprecedented growth in resources for public services. Investment that is delivering more teachers, police officers and nurses at the frontline, and developing the infrastructure we need to grow our economy. Investment that tackles the damage caused by years of under - investment and neglect.
Our devolved Scottish government is committed to excellent public services, designed and delivered to make sure that the interests of those who use them come first. Reform and modernisation are central to realising this ambition.
In June, we launched our Efficient Government initiative - a central component of that reform agenda. It is a 5 year programme, to attack waste, bureaucracy and duplication in Scotland's public sector. A programme that aims to establish Scotland as a leader in efficiency, innovation and productivity in public services. We want nothing less than excellent public services with greater user choice.
We have already secured greater efficiency in public spending over the last five years - reducing the Executive's share of expenditure on administration costs, and in eProcurement Scotl@nd, we have one of the most innovative projects in Europe. But we know there is more we must do.
In June we set an initial target for the Spending Review process to secure 500 million in cash releasing efficiency savings by 2007-08, rising to 1 billion by 2010. As a result of work since June we now know we are able to go further than that initial target, and now have plans which by 2007-08 will secure 745 million of annual cash savings, year on year. Over the 3 years of the Spending Review, a total of 1732 million (cumulative aggregate cash releasing savings) will be released for investment in improving our public services.
These year on year savings release resources that will be moved to the people and places that matter and will deliver real benefits to the public. As a result of these efficiency improvements, and the extra investment in the Spending Review, frontline public services will grow by more than 5% a year.
And the work we have done has persuaded me that we can be even more ambitious. We are able to deliver more cash savings through applying best practice in asset management, in reducing sickness absence, and through sharing support services between public bodies. Ending duplication, bureaucracy and waste. Our work has indicated that we can go further and we believe we can achieve up to 900 million of cash efficiencies by 2007-08, but it is important that this process is robust. We will not confirm these figures until we have completed a thorough portfolio by portfolio and department by department examination.
We will also improve the productivity of the public sector to secure time - releasing savings, through improvements in technology, workforce reform, and removing boundaries which get in the way of delivering excellent services to the public. We have already identified 5 key areas for specific reforms, which between them will save a cash equivalent of at least 300 million a year in improved productive time. We will build on these 5 initial projects, developing a programme which will reach across the whole public sector, with an aspiration for time releasing savings of up to 600 million a year by 2007-08. Once again, we are determined to ensure this process is robust, and we will only commit when we are sure we can deliver.
We will seek assistance with this task from our most successful private sector companies, our world class academic community, and from our partners in public life. We will seek out best practice, draw on and apply their expertise - public and private sectors working together to improve the delivery of services to Scotland.
Our objective is to ensure that the process of continuous service improvement becomes part of the day-to-day business of Government and the rest of the public sector. A standard exercise that becomes customary every time and everywhere. This cultural change will require firm commitment to deliver, but we are resolute in our purpose - to enhance the level, quality and accessibility of public services, securing real, measurable service improvements.
The First Minister has set high ambitions for Scotland, for using our resources more productively and for using our investment wisely. Our Efficient Government programme is a crucial instrument for fulfilling those ambitions.
Tom McCabe MSP
Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform
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