Hansard

This will be one of the last speeches that I will make as an MSP, and it is my final scheduled contribution as convener of the Parliament’s Finance Committee. Therefore, I welcome the fact that I will address a topic—preventative spending—that has the potential to deliver long-lasting social and financial change, and to transform the way in which our public services are delivered.

I believe that our report, which was agreed on a unanimous cross-party basis, leaves a powerful legacy not just for our successor Finance Committee, but for the Parliament as a whole. The inquiry sparked discussions that were often very powerful and passionate. I would not use the word “debates” simply because there was such strong consensus that preventative spending is the correct approach and that it must be adopted more widely.

I want to make it clear that the preventative spending message is extremely simple: public money would be more wisely spent on preventing social problems from occurring than on dealing with problems once they have occurred. That message is by no means novel, of course. Members will be familiar with, for example, the mass vaccination programmes against polio and tuberculosis. Those are well-known and highly successful examples of investments that have delivered considerable long-term benefits.

As the committee’s report makes clear, Scotland faces some appalling social problems. Debates in the chamber have shown that members are acutely aware of those problems—whether they are to do with alcohol, ill health, poverty or violence—but it is important that we constantly remind ourselves of the damage that such problems inflict on our society so that we never cease to search for effective solutions. To be optimistic, the clear message that we received throughout our inquiry was that preventative spending is one of the best means of providing such solutions. However, if we are serious about helping to engineer real, long-term social change, it is no use for the committee simply to publish such a report and then to move on to the next new thing. Rather, we need to build momentum for change and convince other people to join us.

With that in mind, we have already had a discussion on the report in the chamber of the Scottish Parliament. Last Friday, 90 senior delegates from across the public sector came together to discuss it, the Scottish Government’s response to it, and how the barriers to preventative spending can be overcome. I intend to highlight the main points from our report and some of the contributions that were made at that event.

One reason why the Finance Committee is so positive about the benefits of a preventative approach is that our current approach to dealing with social problems is simply unsustainable. For example, it is estimated that violence, smoking and obesity cost the Scottish economy more than £3.5 billion a year. At United Kingdom level, one report has claimed that the economic cost of continuing to address current levels of social problems will amount to almost £4 trillion over a 20-year period. We received evidence that claimed that around 40 to 45 per cent of public spending that is aimed at addressing social problems is negative—that is, it is short-term spending. To its credit, the Scottish Government has acknowledged that the current balance of spending is skewed too much towards reactive spending.

We could have looked at how a preventative approach would work across virtually the entirety of Scottish public spending, but we had to direct our efforts realistically. The report therefore focuses on the early years and health and social care. The early years issue in particular is currently one of the most topical issues around. In addition to our inquiry, former MSP Susan Deacon, Frank Field MP and Graham Allen MP have all recently reported in the area. The fact that they were asked to do so by Governments of different political persuasions demonstrates the consensual and non-partisan nature of the debate.

In the simplest terms, early interventions aim to provide support for children—including support through their families—at as early a stage in their lives as possible. Such interventions include better child care, better support for mothers before, during and after pregnancy and more targeted support for children with particularly complex needs.