Meeting of the Parliament 31 October 2024
We have already sent the ministerial control framework to the committee, so it should be in receipt of it.
It is worth emphasising the point about the wider public body landscape. As I said, the Government is very interested in how we redirect resources from the back office to the front line. We have identified around £5 billion that is spent on supporting public bodies or Scottish Government or other commissioners and other aspects of the commissioner landscape. We are addressing how much of that cost we can drive through the savings programmes that we have in train so that we can refocus it on the front line. It is important that the debate is seen in that wider context.
The committee asked for the ministerial control framework, which, as I said, has been published. The framework was created to ensure that Government proposals for new public bodies are based on evidence and value for money, and are made only when required. I have shared the draft framework with the committee and welcome any input on it. As I explained, it is not a final version and will be subject to further review and amendment, not least taking on board input from the committee. We expect the framework to be finalised by the end of the year, when it will be published and sent to the committee.
I am also happy to agree that the assessment will be published for any proposal that is being taken forward and has been through the framework. The framework is for Government-led proposals and does not act as a control mechanism for other proposals. We would encourage the Parliament to use the principles of the framework or a similar framework to assess proposals for any new SPCB-supported bodies.
The committee also asked the Government to update it on when it will produce multiyear spending plans, which would allow all public bodies, including SPCB-supported bodies, to plan for the medium term. The Scottish Government is considering the timing of publishing medium-term spending plans, in line with the announcement by the United Kingdom Government that a full spending review will be published in spring 2025.
To conclude, the Scottish Government is committed to reforming the public sector landscape. We have introduced frameworks and reviews and we are driving a number of programmes, working closely with chief executives of public bodies. We are serious about taking forward the agenda and recognise the scope that exists to free up resources from the back office to focus on front-line services. The review of the commissioner landscape should be seen in that context.
I would very much welcome any work that the Finance and Public Administration Committee deems that it would like to take forward to look at the broader public sector landscape. I believe that the cost of commissioners is about £18 million and, as I indicated earlier, the cost of the wider public body landscape runs into many billions. We would therefore very much welcome any contribution that the committee may want to make in terms of focus and opportunity for reallocation of resources.
I am grateful to the committee and its members for lodging the motion for debate, and I look forward to hearing members’ contributions.
I move amendment S6M-15086.3, to leave out from “and further agrees” to end and insert:
“which should complete its work by June 2025, and further agrees that, while this review is undertaken, there should be a moratorium on creating any new SPCB supported bodies, or expanding the remit of existing bodies, while recognising that, for proposals within bills that have already been introduced, these are now for the Parliament to take a decision on, respecting the lead committees’ roles in scrutinising legislation within their remits.”
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