Reduction in scrutiny bodies
Tuesday 01 July 2008
The number of bodies scrutinising the delivery of public services will be reduced over time by 25 per cent, MSPs were told today in the Parliament
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth John Swinney was giving an update on actions taken to simplify and streamline the scrutiny of public services following the The Crerar Review - Independent Review of Regulation, Audit, Inspection and Complaints Handling - published in September.
Progress includes:
- Ministers have asked the Accounts Commission to put in place arrangements to implement a single framework to assess the performance of the local authority as a body
- The Accounts Commission and scrutiny bodies are working together to better plan inspections to reduce the burden on councils
- HM Inspectorate of Education has reduced inspection times and pre-inspection work for every council and school, developing proportionate approaches to target scrutiny according to risk
- The Scottish Housing Regulator has stopped cyclical inspections for housing associations and will cease for councils once the initial round of inspections has been completed
Mr Swinney said: "Reducing the burden of scrutiny on our public services saves staff time and taxpayers' money. Any change, however, must ensure we protect the interests of the vulnerable members of our society. I am committed to removing unnecessary burdens and letting staff get on with the job in hand - delivering first class public services. The actions taken so far are a promising start, but the pace of change must be increased. We are determined to embed a culture of continuous improvement in public services and move to a risk-based, proportionate level of scrutiny.
"Alongside that proportionate approach, we need to simplify the landscape and reduce the number of scrutiny bodies. In line with our commitment to substantially reduce the overall number of public bodies, we will target a reduction of the 29 scrutiny bodies by 25 per cent, exceeding our broader commitment to reduce the number of public bodies. I expect to make a further announcement on structural change in the autumn."
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/82980/0053065.pdf