Meeting of the Parliament 11 June 2026 [Last updated 19:16]
The Labour amendment specifically talks about cutting public bodies, but not about making sure that their remits do not overlap, which would involve changing the remits of those bodies. It may be that, in the course of consultation with the public and workers, decisions may be made to change the number of public bodies. However, for Labour to come in, right off the bat, saying, “Let’s cut some”, before we have even asked questions and done the mapping exercise, seems to be putting the cart before the horse, and it hardly represents the worker-led reform that we are after.
As with many aspects of governing in Scotland, we can do only so much because of the limitations of the devolution settlement. We can try to implement initiatives such as the polluter-pays approach, but we can be vetoed by the United Kingdom Internal Market Act 2020. We can try to do things differently on taxation or benefits so as to increase revenue or improve outcomes, but we will always be trying to fight poverty and climate change with one arm tied behind our back.
It is clear to the Scottish Greens that public sector reform must be accompanied by a greater devolution of powers to Scotland.
I move amendment S7M-00309, to insert at end:
“; agrees that any programme of public sector reform must be worker-led; believes that public service reform must incorporate community wealth building principles, including procurement reform, to ensure that more public money is spent locally; agrees that public bodies and organisations receiving public funding must adhere to fair work principles, and that public bodies should have clear duties to protect the environment, build resilience to climate change and uphold human rights and that public sector reform should be accompanied by a greater devolution of powers to Scotland.”
Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.