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chapter one: Introduction
1. This document sets out our vision for reform, describes the approach to developing that vision to build on the progress already made, and aims to provoke discussion and ideas about how reform can be deepened in the years to come.
2. Reform is an ongoing process of change and there are already examples of reform taking place within many areas of our public services. This document and dialogue process is not intended to divert or delay these existing reforms. Rather it is intended to learn from where we are improving the quality and efficiency of our services, drive and encourage continuous improvement in service delivery, and challenge those areas where the service is unacceptable.
3. Throughout the document, we highlight discussion points about particular issues. These questions will be explored in depth in a series of events during 2006, which will help shape the future direction of the long-term transformation of public services in Scotland.
4. We have a window of opportunity in 2006 to agree the direction of change and we would urge all those involved not to be constrained in their thinking about how best to organise our public services for future generations but to embrace the chance to use their imagination and think about what would really make a difference to the people of Scotland. The process of change will be continuous over the long term with the key period for implementation occurring during 2007-2011.
5. Our ambitions for service transformation apply across the whole public sector. The proposals and options in this paper are relevant to local government, police and fire services, the NHS, the enterprise networks, further and higher education institutions, the justice system, the Executive itself and the range of NDPBs and executive agencies.
6. We do not propose to adopt a 'one-size fits all' approach to the vast range of public services, and different communities across Scotland. Some services are delivered nationally, some regionally, and others locally. Our challenge to local communities and public services is to work with us to identify the reforms that will transform service delivery in their area.
7. The challenge to reform applies equally to the Executive. We must transform the way we plan, fund, direct, and oversee public services and remove barriers to service transformation. We want to work in partnership to design a framework for public services that is sustainable, integrated, fit for purpose and user centred.
The context for reform
8. We start from a strong belief in the value and importance of public services. They are there for all of us in times of need; and they bind society together. Efficient public services help drive our economic performance by helping to equip people with the education and skills required in a competitive economy, and by providing the infrastructure for enterprise to flourish.
9. We have invested heavily in public services since 1999, and that investment, combined with the measures we have put in place to improve performance and efficiency, has delivered real benefits. The case for reform is not based on an assumption that public services are generally failing.
10. But there is no doubt that our public services have to be more responsive and effective and that we face a number of long-term challenges over the next 20 years, which we cannot meet unless we accelerate the pace of modernisation and reform:
- We have a more diverse and individualistic society with different aspirations and expectations. People are better equipped to make assessments of service quality and to judge service quality against the best elsewhere, and they expect services tailored to their needs.
- The unparalleled growth in expenditure on public services in recent years is not likely to continue indefinitely, particularly when our economy faces increasing competition from Eastern Europe, India and China.
- We are experiencing unprecedented technological change - with opportunities to deliver services in new ways, but also risks of increased inequality.
- The proportion of people of working age in the population is shrinking. The fact that so many of us are living longer is a cause for celebration, but we cannot deny that it will put public services under increasing pressure if we do not reform.
- There is declining engagement with the political process and generally with the public sphere. This could fuel a loss of trust in public services unless we can demonstrate that they are valuable and efficient, and match the best that can be found elsewhere.
- Our determination to improve economic opportunity is informed by the social disadvantage that is still experienced by too many in our country.
11. The establishment of the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Executive was a once in a lifetime change to the governance of Scotland. But the Parliament and the Executive were grafted onto the existing institutional landscape. That landscape was a result of many different changes, including the creation of the post war welfare state, the local government reforms in the 1970s and 1990s, and the transfer of central government delivery to Executive agencies in the 1980s. It is time for a new settlement in the public sector, to give us a framework which will equip us for the challenges of the next 20 years and beyond without making the mistakes of previous costly reorganisations.
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