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Official Report: search what was said in Parliament

The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.  

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Dates of parliamentary sessions
  1. Session 1: 12 May 1999 to 31 March 2003
  2. Session 2: 7 May 2003 to 2 April 2007
  3. Session 3: 9 May 2007 to 22 March 2011
  4. Session 4: 11 May 2011 to 23 March 2016
  5. Session 5: 12 May 2016 to 5 May 2021
  6. Current session: 12 May 2021 to 6 January 2025
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Displaying 1357 contributions

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Finance and Public Administration Committee

Public Service Reform Programme

Meeting date: 6 June 2023

Michelle Thomson

I meant with regard to changing something at significant scale—such as, for context, the 14 territorial boards and the five national boards—and restructuring it. I mentioned the Centre for Sustainable Delivery. I am talking about that scale of change and organisational restructuring. Is that something that you would expect to see mandated by the Government rather than being fed upwards from you or people who you face off with in other boards?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Economic and Fiscal Forecasts and Medium-term Financial Strategy

Meeting date: 6 June 2023

Michelle Thomson

To follow on from that, you have indicated that the Scottish Government may receive further funding from sources other than the block grant. What are those sources? What do you see as the key risks for their not materialising? In other words, I am trying to flesh out the extent to which those sources can be relied on relative to the block grant, which we know has been significantly cut.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Public Service Reform Programme

Meeting date: 6 June 2023

Michelle Thomson

Good morning, and thank you for joining us. Last week, we had interesting evidence from Police Scotland in which it was made clear that that body simply would not have been created had it not been mandated by Government. I want to ask you some perception questions about your world. In Scotland, with 5.5 million people, we have 14 territorial boards and five national boards, and there is duplication of human resources directors, information technology directors and finance directors. Have you and your equivalents had discussions about attempting to change the scale and the current organisational structure? I know that the British Medical Association has released a report on that, but have you looked at the issue or suggested some change with your face-off equivalents in other boards?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Public Service Reform Programme

Meeting date: 6 June 2023

Michelle Thomson

My next question follows on from that. Local boards might employ individual staff under different terms and conditions. Does that inhibit flexibility when trying to move staff around? Is there not the same ease of transition because they are employed by different boards? Do you experience that when trying to attract people into your area?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Economic and Fiscal Forecasts and Medium-term Financial Strategy

Meeting date: 6 June 2023

Michelle Thomson

You have prompted my next question. Off the top of your head, do you have any figures to show how capital investment in the UK over, say, the past 10 years compares with that in other states?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Economic and Fiscal Forecasts and Medium-term Financial Strategy

Meeting date: 6 June 2023

Michelle Thomson

So any cut in the block grant has a potentially significant impact.

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Economic and Fiscal Forecasts and Medium-term Financial Strategy

Meeting date: 6 June 2023

Michelle Thomson

Is that approach even more prevalent in Scotland due to the tendency to focus on revenue because of the fixed budget?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Public Service Reform Programme

Meeting date: 30 May 2023

Michelle Thomson

I want to go back to cover one idea with David Page before we move on to look at some general themes.

Mr Page, you did not mention one area that is habitually difficult when making transformational change at scale: the merging of different cultures. People often carry out due diligence on legal or financial matters but forget about culture. You were, in essence, bringing lots of different cultures together. How did you actively manage that and what have been the outcomes?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Public Service Reform Programme

Meeting date: 30 May 2023

Michelle Thomson

I have a final wee question off the back of that. You pointed out that change was forced on you by the legislation. Had it not been, is there any way on God’s earth that all the different forces would have volunteered to come together?

Finance and Public Administration Committee

Public Service Reform Programme

Meeting date: 30 May 2023

Michelle Thomson

It is just a quick question, because Keith Brown has opened up a great thread. We hear that there is a lot of good stuff going on, and a shared sense of what needs to be done. However, I want somebody to answer this question. What is the role of Government in enabling data harvest and capture—within limitations, as has been set out—given that AI will be fundamental to public sector reform? What should Government’s role be, given the challenges around scale that Keith Brown pointed out in his opening question?