Reshaping Scotland’s public services will help ensure investment is “focused on delivering frontline services”, a key member of John Swinney’s Cabinet has said.
Public Service Reform Secretary Ivan McKee said ministers wanted to “reshape public services” to deliver better for people and communities.
He spoke ahead of a debate in Holyrood on Tuesday – with Mr McKee adding that the Government had “not been shy about the scale of our ambitions for Scotland”.
In his Programme for Government at the start of this month, First Minister John Swinney announced plans for a radical reshaping of how Scotland’s health service is organised, going from 14 territorial health boards to two new strategic health boards.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government published proposals last week suggesting the country’s 32 local councils could be scrapped and replaced with a new two-tier system of regional and more local bodies.
Under these plans there could be between six and 10 regional authorities, which would be given powers over larger planning decisions, education and economic development, and between 120 and 160 more local “community” authorities.
Mr McKee argued that “bold and fundamental reform of public services is about driving meaningful improvements in people’s lives”.
The Public Service Reform Secretary said: “If we all engage positively and constructively, we can rewire the public sector in a way that supports people to take decisions for their communities.”
He urged politicians to help “reshape public services around the people and communities we all serve, ensuring investment is focused on delivering frontline services”.
Mr McKee continued: “This is about agreeing how we can remove unnecessary duplication and work more efficiently by combining strategic decisions with greater local powers.”
He said ministers were delivering on the commitment to “undertake intensive dialogue on the future of local governance before the end of the year” adding that they were also hearing from other public bodies, NHS boards, local government, trade unions, the third sector and communities.
A one size-fits-all culture will never meet the needs of rural communities
However, Liberal Democrat Highland MSPs David Green, Andrew Baxter and Morven-May MacCallum have written jointly to the Scottish Government setting out their concerns.
The three MSPs said they were “particularly concerned by the proposals for larger regional authorities and what that could mean for Highland Council”, adding that “it would be wrong, for example, for ministers to amalgamate Highland Council with neighbouring local authorities like Moray or Aberdeenshire, each of which have their own particular needs”.
In a letter sent to deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth the three Lib Dem MSPs said: “A one size-fits-all culture will never meet the needs of rural communities.
“The real test of successful reform lies in whether decisions are being made closer to communities, whether those communities have meaningful control over their budgets, and whether powers have been sufficiently transferred outside Edinburgh.
“If that test is not met, we fear these proposals will amount to little more than an expensive rebranding exercise.”