Publication: Shrewd approach needed for public sector success

It’s been a bruising four years for the public sector. First a gruelling pandemic and then a recovery stymied by inflation and tighter budgets.

Longer-standing issues in the likes of the NHS, the justice system and beyond have become deeper rooted. Services are increasingly struggling to cope with demand.

But these issues are not intractable. There is more our leaders can do to improve how they tackle such challenges - and that’s been borne out by the findings of audit work.

Auditor General reports in the first half of my term have featured common themes.

The need for better governance

The first is the need for ministers’ ambitions to be backed by shrewd governance.

Governance is not a word that raises pulses, but it’s vital for public policy to get right.

If governance is lacking it can store up issues in areas like health care, climate change, the economy and public sector reform.

It means rigorous planning that includes goals that are clear, measurable and achievable. A focus on greater transparency and accountability around where money is being spent and why.

And that crucial value for money point: having a much better understanding of the difference that spending is making to people’s lives (or not).

That goes for all Scottish public bodies.

Data is part of this, and, as my colleagues have observed, better data means better policy and results.

In short, ministers and other public sector leaders need to know what they’re getting for pounds spent.

Leadership key to reform and prevention

Getting governance right goes hand in hand with an effective vision to reform the public sector. This is now urgent.

But the best plan in in the world is no use without effective leadership.

It’s not enough, for example, for ministers to delegate reform by asking other public sector bodies to set out their own individual plans. The Scottish Government needs to take on a greater leadership role.

We know other public bodies want that. It’s the priceless ingredient capable of galvanising other leaders to deliver change and more resilient public services.

The Scottish Government needs to be clear about its vision, about the workforce it needs to deliver priority services, and how the public sector estate will change to provide those services.

A shift to more preventative spending (a key part of any reform agenda) is also needed.

No government, for example, can stop its people getting older, but there are choices that can be made to ensure they live healthier, more productive lives for longer.

Inevitably spending will have to reduce in some areas to allow for investment elsewhere. But that needs to be done in a planned way, and with good governance and effective leadership at its heart.

Breaking the cycle

To date, wider plans for reform have moved too slowly. Collaboration across public bodies to change services hasn’t happened to the degree envisaged well over a decade ago.

Without an increase in the scale and pace of reform, the danger is that successive governments will inherit the same problems. The cycle will remain unbroken, and services will increasingly be unable to cope.

It’s a tough task. The Scottish Government has limited borrowing powers and must balance its budget each year. It also has to juggle immediate concerns with making the time to lead on the redesign of public services.

But that time for planning and leadership of the public sector must be made. The alternative - short-term cuts to balance annual budgets without a long-term plan for reform - risks storing up even greater problems for our communities.

The next four years

Over the second half of my term, I will continue to help Scotland’s people understand how well public services work and how well money is spent.

My work will range from looking at the additional costs and benefits of Scotland’s social security system to how the Scottish National Investment Bank is delivering on its mission.

More work on public sector reform is in the pipeline. And performance audits on child poverty, primary health care, colleges and the challenges of climate change are all in various stages of development.

Along with colleagues at Audit Scotland and the Accounts Commission, I will be using that work to continue to advocate for change and improvements at public bodies and in services.

Yes, Scotland is facing big challenges. But if ministers and other leaders can get smarter with their planning and spending, it will put public services on a healthier footing for the future.

I am committed to ensuring our work helps contribute to that positive outcome.