Governments and opposition parties appear to have rediscovered public service reform. From policy speeches to legislation the subject is rarely out of the news. In this briefing, we outline the ideas and suggest that most proposals from the UK and Scottish governments are sticking plaster solutions to short-term financial pressures. Long-term reform is needed to address the underlying challenges facing Scotland and the UK.
The fundamental problem with both governments’ reform programmes is that they are focused on the short-term, are underfunded, and progress is glacial. Short-term efficiency savings are not reform. The Christie Commission described 40% of public spending as due to ‘failure demand’. If we used preventative spending, that failure demand could be eliminated, and we could create a more equal and productive society, breaking the cycle of inherited poverty.
The Jimmy Reid Foundation has published a series of reports on public service reform. A key element of those papers was strengthening local communities by decentralising powers and empowering the workforce. Institutional inertia may be part of the problem, but short-termism is also rife in business, the media and political parties. 2025 must be the year of real change.