Meeting of the Parliament 22 January 2026 [Draft]
On the issue of overlap, I hope that the evidence from the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body will feed back into the Scottish Government’s review of the national performance framework, future development and sustainability.
The Scottish Government told the committee that its review of the national performance framework and the national outcomes provides an opportunity to achieve the policy objectives of the bill. Given the timing of the review coinciding with the introduction of the bill, it was not possible for the committee to come to a view on that.
During our scrutiny of the bill, we received suggestions for improving the NPF and the national outcomes. Witnesses told us that there needs to be a more effective way for public bodies to demonstrate compliance, so that it is not a tick-box exercise. We asked the Scottish Government to take into consideration, as part of its review, the evidence that we received.
I welcome the minister’s confirmation that the review will focus on areas that are identified in our report, such as strengthening accountability and oversight mechanisms, alignment with the United Nations sustainable development goals and consideration of the investment that is required to improve the embedding of wellbeing and sustainable development to achieve policy coherence across public bodies.
In conclusion, although the committee supports the policy objectives of the bill, we also recognise the significant doubts that have been raised about its likely impact, cost and effectiveness.