Publish staff cut targets as part of public sector reform, MSPs urge ministers

A Holyrood committee has urged the Government to set a target for staff cuts for each public body as they seek to rein in spending.

The Public Service Reform Committee was established in response to the Scottish Government’s drive to overhaul the public sector.

In a 15-page letter to Public Service Reform Secretary Ivan McKee, committee convener Bob Doris acknowledged reform is “an imperative, not an option”.

But he said a number of the Government’s plans lack transparency, leaving the committee unable to effectively scrutinise what would be the biggest overhaul of the public sector for three decades.

The number of jobs which would be lost has been a hot-button issue since the drive for reform was announced, with the Government saying there would need to be a reduction in the public sector workforce while clinging on to a ban on compulsory redundancies.

In the letter, the convener – an SNP MSP – urged the Government to set targets.

“The committee welcomes the commitment to publish workforce data by body and portfolio,” he said.

“However, the absence of targets for individual public bodies prevents effective scrutiny.

“The committee asks the Scottish Government to publish each public body’s percentage target and what this equates to in numbers of staff, so progress can be tracked to allow for comparisons over time where public bodies may be restructured.”

The convener also pushed for the Government to update its medium-term financial strategy (MTFS), saying: “The absence of an updated MTFS before the Scottish budget limits effective scrutiny of whether reform plans and savings are affordable, realistic and sustainable.

“The committee asks the Scottish Government to publish the MTFS to a consistent timetable throughout this parliamentary session and, where publication is delayed, provide an interim update on the fiscal outlook for public service reform, including assumptions and risks.”

The next MTFS is due in the spring of next year, with Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth saying the change in Chancellor and the war in the Middle East mean the projections provided by the Office for Budget Responsibility would be “outdated”.

The “scale of efficiencies”, Mr Doris added, is not supported by enough evidence.

“We consider the scale of planned efficiencies is not yet supported by sufficient evidence or implementation detail to help us scrutinise the merits of the Scottish Government’s chosen approach,” he wrote

“The committee expects that every merger or significant restructuring proposal is accompanied by an evidenced-based business case.

“The business case should set out the baseline, up-front and recurring costs, workforce implications, financial and non-financial benefits, the delivery timetable, risks and measurable outcomes for service users.

“Alongside the business case, the Scottish Government should provide any information on the outcomes of discussions with key stakeholders, for example, the workforce, trade unions and service users.”

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.

The letter comes after the Government confirmed Scottish Forestry would remain a stand-alone agency and not brought under the banner of a new environmental body – which could include NatureScot, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency and Zero Waste Scotland – as had been touted.

Scottish Tory public service reform spokesman Murdo Fraser said: “Even Ivan McKee’s SNP colleagues are lining up to stick the boot in over the lack of detail on his public service reform plans.

“This is a damning and devastating letter that raises serious questions not only for the minister, but John Swinney too.

“We are weeks away from the SNP’s budget yet Holyrood committees are lining up to say there is a complete lack of information from the Government over their plans.

“It is simply not good enough to keep Parliament and the public in the dark if they are serious about implementing such widespread changes.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat public service reform spokesman David Green said: “It’s been five months since the election, yet we still have more questions than answers.

“With so many public sector workers living with the uncertainty surrounding these reforms, the SNP needs to be upfront about its plans and what the cost will be.

“This is the second time in a week that an SNP committee convener has called out their own Government for a lack of transparency, and credit to both Bob Doris and David Linden for doing so. It speaks volumes about the way this SNP Government is treating both Parliament and the public.”

Labour’s spokeswoman on public service reform, Carol Mochan, said: “It is absolutely vital that before proceeding with its public service reform agenda, the Scottish Government provides a clear plan for what it proposes to do.

“This includes providing MSPs with evidence as to the efficiencies that ministers expect to make, clarity around any redundancy or redeployment schemes that may be used, and a timescale for when these reforms will happen.

“It is imperative that the Scottish Government provides full transparency over their proposals, not just to MSPs, but to the wider public and civil servants as they will be the ones who will feel the impact of widescale changes.”