Chamber and committees

At this stage, I am unable to give Annabelle Ewing a definitive timetable, but I quite understand the concerns that she raised and the points that she has articulated on behalf of her constituents in Cowdenbeath.

The JCVI is an independent committee and it is, correctly, taking time to review the emerging clinical evidence including, crucially, the information on vaccine waning, infection rates and hospitalisation. I am certain that, once the JCVI has had the opportunity to do that, it will publish its findings accordingly.

I reassure Annabelle Ewing that, as we have demonstrated over the past 18 months or so, the Government and our health boards are ready to deploy vaccination activity. The vaccination programme has been an extraordinary success, given the scale at which it has been carried out, and I pay tribute to those who have organised and delivered the programme. I assure Annabelle Ewing and her constituents in Cowdenbeath that the same arrangements will be in place if required on the basis of the JCVI’s advice.

The highest risk list ended on 31 May 2022, as we have strong clinical evidence to show that, as a result of the vaccination programme and new medicines, most people who were on the list are at no greater risk from Covid than the general population. The Scottish Government has written to those who were formerly on the highest risk list to provide advice and guidance.

The Scottish Government continues to promote the distance aware initiative, which helps people to feel more comfortable in public spaces, and we strongly recommend that people still follow basic mitigations such as ensuring adequate ventilation and wearing face coverings where appropriate. Our approach to testing in different groups of the population will also continue to be informed by clinical advice.

Alongside our evolving response to the pandemic, the Scottish Government’s Covid recovery strategy will continue to focus effort and resources on those who were most impacted during the pandemic, to ensure a fairer recovery.

The question that it raises in my mind is whether the local outcome agreements genuinely contribute towards the expected outcomes of the NPF. In theory, I understand Fife Council’s point, but I have a question in my mind as to whether that is all as closely aligned as is being expressed.

It is not done formally. If I looked at an Accounts Commission report on a local authority, I would be surprised if I did not see some commentary on the degree to which the local authority’s planning and thinking were aligned to the national performance framework. The Accounts Commission is mindful, from a regulatory perspective, that that is a relevant issue for it to consider.

I do not think so. I go back to a point that Liz Smith previously made about the Scottish Leaders Forum, which is generally made up of public sector leaders in Scotland at an operational level, not a political level. As I look at the work that comes out of the forum, I see those individuals as being very much signed up to the agenda that I have talked about extensively this morning, while recognising that service changes have to be made and improvements have to be delivered to enable that to happen. I therefore do not really think that there is an absence of engagement and accountability on such questions.

Given the challenges that we face, we have to be satisfied that there is sufficient pace and intensity to such work. For example, I want us to move at pace to eradicate child poverty. We and all public authorities have to ask ourselves whether we are moving quite as fast as we could.

That is about the political leadership that we need to put in place to move the organisations. We might need to think of different policy solutions that will enable that to be the case and give particular areas of policy greater priority than others.

Good morning, convener. I welcome the opportunity to appear before the committee as part of its inquiry into the national performance framework. Although the national performance framework is highly regarded domestically and internationally, we must grapple with the complex question of how to translate the ambition that it sets out into concrete actions for improvement. There will not be one straightforward answer to that question, but by drawing on the experience of those who use the national outcomes to shape policy making and service delivery across local government, the public sector, business organisations and the voluntary sector, I am confident that effective solutions can be found.

Drawing on those experiences and voices exemplifies what the national performance framework is all about: encouraging partnership, collaboration and recognising the part that we all play in improving the wellbeing of people in Scotland. Meeting the challenges of Covid recovery, achieving net zero and reducing child poverty will require more and more of that collaboration, and we must therefore listen carefully in order to unlock more of the national performance framework’s potential.

I have been grateful for the responses that the committee has received to its call for evidence and from the oral evidence sessions that it has held as part of the inquiry. The breadth of responses from across Scottish society demonstrates the wide appeal of the national performance framework and its potential to bring together different sectors on the same outcomes. The responses underscore the strength of commitment to the national performance framework and the progress that we have made since 2018 in making the framework’s approach one for all of Scotland, not just for the Government.

We can and must learn from organisations that have effectively shaped their policies, programmes and systems around the national outcomes and that can demonstrate their impact on them. However, they also present important evidence in highlighting areas in which we can improve. Improvements can be made on issues such as accountability, budgeting for outcomes and integrating the national performance framework into the Government’s systems and processes. I will continue to listen to those important contributions and consider how we will respond.

The inquiry is timely, because the upcoming review of the national outcomes presents an opportunity to put ideas into action. The review, which will be undertaken in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, will consult widely with communities across Scotland on the national outcomes, and it will go further by considering how the national performance framework can achieve greater impact. Public engagement is due to start on 23 June, and the review is to be launched at the national performance framework conference. Communities, charities, businesses and other organisations in Scotland will be given various opportunities to influence what our national outcomes are and how we can create the environment in which they can be achieved. The findings of the committee’s inquiry will be considered as part of that review. As the committee has requested, we will provide the Parliament with ample time to consider the review’s findings and any proposed changes to the national performance framework that it leads to.

I am very happy to address any questions from the committee.

That is a central issue. For the national performance framework to be effective, it has to be a statement of what we as a country are trying to achieve and the outcomes that support those aspirations. Inevitably, funding and policy decisions at an operational level will have enormous significance for whether those aspirations are achieved.

I was interested in some observations shared with the committee by North Ayrshire Council, which is well known to you, convener. The council provided a submission to the inquiry that said:

“The National Outcomes influence the development of our Council Plan which outlines our priorities agreed with our communities and is North Ayrshire Council’s central plan. It forms part of the ‘Golden Thread’ linking national outcomes through to each employee’s daily activities.”

That captures the sense of importance that we want to attach to the national performance framework. In that example from North Ayrshire Council, the contribution from an individual employee is connected right through to the national outcomes as part of the national performance framework. Similarly, budgeting should be so aligned. We must constantly be mindful of that issue in all the planning and decision making that we undertake. We should not take decisions or make judgments that are not aligned with the aspirations that are set out in the framework. Accordingly, we should be able to link decision making at an operational level with the achievement of those outcomes.

The first thing that I will say, which I should have said in my answer to your first question, is that I accept that engagement on the issues will be patchy. That is not satisfactory, but it is an acknowledgement of reality. I will not sit here and deny that reality.

The point that you raise about whether there should be a reward or penalty mechanism is interesting. In a variety of different respects, we should consider whether there is a place for the performance of organisations in the use of public money to influence future decision making.

That is not a route that the Government has gone down. We have gone down more of a route of encouragement and engagement with organisations to get them to acknowledge the significance of the national performance framework and for that to be reflected in the Government’s priorities. However, as I said in my opening statement, the Government will examine with care the outcome of the inquiry and, if the committee comes to conclusions on some of the questions, we will give those issues consideration as we examine the role and content of the national performance framework as part of the review that we will undertake.

Yes, indeed.