Chamber and committees

There will be real challenges for the commissioner in ensuring that public bodies have the ability to deliver what is expected of them. If they are expected to ensure that all their actions, policies and decisions incorporate what is proposed in the bill, that will end up creating challenges for each public body.

What challenges might public bodies face in trying to achieve that goal? They might not be doing exactly what they want to do, but they will be forced into it if a commissioner is in place to ensure compliance. Are there any views on how that might play out if the commissioner is in place?

Good morning. This follows on from talking about the commissioner. If a commissioner is required, what are the witnesses’ thoughts on the general functions of the commissioner? The commissioner will have a variety of duties to perform, one of which is

“to promote the wellbeing of future generations by promoting sustainable development by public bodies in all aspects of their decisions, policies and actions.”

It would be good to get a view on whether, if there is a commissioner, it would be achievable and sustainable to ensure that all public bodies do that.

Frances Guy, do you have any views on that?

Cabinet secretary, you have said that transformation is already happening and that councils are doing that, supporting it in their choices and attempting to provide better services for the communities that they represent. However, we still hear from the public at large that they believe that they are paying more and getting less from council services.

You touched on the invest to save fund and the reform programme, and said that you want that fund to “oil the wheels”. What engagement has the Scottish Government had with local authorities about the projects? The Government ring fenced £6 million for local government to support that, but does that result in genuine public sector reform? We had a discussion with the previous panel about the fact that councils need to have oven-ready policies or things that are ready to go, but the timescale is tight, so they do not always manage to get funds unless their plans are well advanced. How has the Scottish Government engaged and how does local government support that? Will that approach result in genuine public sector reform?

Council leaders and Unison have said that efficiencies have already been achieved and we are well aware that that is the case among all councils. However, they are suggesting that that has had a knock-on effect. Back-room services have been decreased, which puts an added increased pressure on to front-line services, and that has a knock-on effect on workload and the timescales that staff are having to endure. That in turn has a knock-on effect on retention and the ability to ensure that you have the right people at the right place doing the services and improving all that for you.

It would be good to get a flavour of what you think of that view. Are there concerns that efficiencies have been made but that you are now getting to the stage where there is not much left to go and there is a knock-on effect when it comes to staffing, recruitment and retention and the ability of your workforce to fulfil and manage their roles effectively under the current climate of budget reform and transformation?

Good.

Council leaders and Unison have talked about their concerns that efficiencies have already been achieved across local government and that backroom reductions can lead to increased pressure on front-line staffing. That has an implication for workforce. What is your view of that? Many people said that backroom functions could be adapted, but people are now saying that the effect on backroom functions is having an impact on front-line services.

Thank you for your answers so far. There is no doubt that the transformation agenda has had a massive impact. This morning, you have identified how that impacts on choice and outcomes, and how it leads to better services. However, that is not the public’s perception. The public’s perception is still that they seem to be paying more and getting less. There is therefore an imbalance there.

I would like to ask about the invest to save fund and about the engagement that local authorities have had with the Scottish Government on the projects that were awarded some of that money. The Scottish Government chose to ring fence £6 million for local government, and it would be good to get a view from you as to how that fund supports genuine public sector reform. Who would like to take that first?

Do you agree with that, Professor Jones?

Could aligning the definition to include

“individuals, families and other groups within society”

place constraints on the definition?

The SCOSS report highlighted that not all carers will be able to benefit from the full four-week extension to the run-on, because of the way that carer support interacts with universal credit. Can you update the committee on discussions that have taken place with the DWP to try to resolve that issue?