Public Audit Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Official Report 481KB pdf

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Public Audit Committee Reports (Responses)

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“Overview of the NHS in Scotland’s performance 2008/09”

Agenda item 3 is to consider a response from the Scottish Government’s accountable officer to our report “Overview of the NHS in Scotland’s performance 2008/09”. It is a comprehensive response on a wide range of issues and the clerk has provided a note on it.

Before members comment on the response, I have a couple of points of information. At our next meeting, we will consider the overview report of the NHS in Scotland’s performance for the next financial year. If members want to pursue any issues from the Government response before us, they can do so as part of the process next week. We can go back to the Scottish Government again if members wish, or we can include in our legacy paper any issues to take forward. We can ask the Government to provide updates on issues in its regular progress reports.

I note with interest the Government’s response to the procurement question, on which we raised a number of issues, particularly the success or otherwise of the national procurement initiative. I would like to see an update on that in the next progress report. Do members have any other comments?

My attention was drawn to the reference in the Government’s response to the national estate management system for NHS assets. Mr Feeley notes in that section that the NHS has £5 billion worth of assets and 4 million square metres of floor space. The estate management system represents perhaps the first opportunity to collect information on all the assets in order to understand what we have and what it costs, and how to procure new equipment and services.

I was surprised to read that the NHS is just beginning that process, because it has been fairly common elsewhere for some time. Nevertheless, I am pleased that it is happening. For an asset base of such value, we must have such a system and get better at using it for the future. Time will tell, of course, whether the system of asset management will yield the level of savings that we hope for so that we can reinvest them in front-line care. I will follow that process with great interest. I suppose the issue can be included in our legacy paper for the next parliamentary session.

We can ask that the Scottish Government in the next parliamentary session updates the committee on that work in its progress reports.

I think that we should.

The impact of public sector cutbacks on the NHS is an issue that we will inevitably be drawn back to. I am sure that it will be debated regularly in the health committee and in the Parliament, but from our point of view it will be important to monitor issues such as efficiency savings, service redesign and staff and consultant salaries, and keep a careful eye on whether the efficiency savings are genuine or represent a real cut in the quality and level of service. I agree that those issues should be included in the legacy paper as important ones to return to.

Audit Scotland could pick up on those issues as well in its future reporting on this area.

Indeed. The overall NHS spend in Scotland is clearly a substantial part of the Scottish Government’s budget.

I welcome James Kelly, who is the latest member to arrive at the meeting.

I apologise for my late arrival, convener.

That is quite all right. You are not the only one.

If members are happy, we will add this issue to the list of items for the progress report.

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“Progress on Planning for the Delivery of the Commonwealth Games 2014”

Agenda item 4 is consideration of the accountable officer’s response to the committee report on progress on planning for the Commonwealth games. Again, it is a comprehensive response from the Scottish Government. I remind members that Audit Scotland is planning to conduct a second progress report on the Commonwealth games as part of its forward work programme for 2011-12. I ask Audit Scotland when that report is likely to be ready.

We are likely to start it mid-2011 and report by the end of the year. On the Government’s response to the current report and the items that we think that we will look at, we will certainly revisit the inflation and contingency issue, we will keep an eye on the staffing issues and we will look at the marketing strategy for ticketing and at some of the capital projects. We will keep a watching brief on some of the issues on which you asked the Government for information.

Thank you. So, a year from now we should have an updated report from Audit Scotland. That is very helpful. In light of that, rather than pursue the Government’s response further, do we want just to wait for next year’s Audit Scotland report?

We should just be pleased that we are not organising a winter games.

We would be complaining about the lack of snow.

Are members happy with the suggested approach?

Members indicated agreement.