Meeting of the Parliament 31 October 2024
There is a difference between giving somebody a voice and the person who is listening to that voice responding to it.
When I was shadow minister for social care, I spoke to many organisations that were supportive of a national care service. The principle of a national care service was co-design. As time progressed, the Government had one idea of the national care service and the stakeholders had another, which is why the national care service is in such a dire position. Had there been a care commissioner, I do not think that their voice would have been any more powerful.
Many of those organisations are already funded in part by the Government, so if the Government—and, effectively, the taxpayer—funds a commissioner, there is a duplication of the spending of taxpayers’ money.
The fundamental point is that some of the commissioners have a statutory function and perform a function—for example, the Ethical Standards Commissioner or the Standards Commission. Looking down the list of new commissioners, I think that there is a significant chance of duplicating what civil society is already doing in Scotland.
I very much welcome the review and look forward to the debate. I hope that a committee will be formed and that it will come to the conclusion that it has to do two things. First, it has to make sure that Government and structures are effective in this country and, secondly, it has to make sure that we have due regard to the public purse.