Seòmar agus comataidhean

If you push up against any resistance, whether institutional or from individuals, what form, typically, does that resistance take?

Paragraphs 70 and 71 of the briefing were the two that drew media attention. In paragraph 70, you state:

“In the face of the financial challenges, the pace and scale of reform needs to increase, and this will require a sense of urgency from the Scottish Government, at a time when it is also pressing to resolve short-term issues facing the budget.”

You go on to state in paragraph 71:

“If this does not happen, it will become increasingly difficult for the Scottish Government to manage the pressures on the budget, meaning that the cuts to spending necessary to balance the budget will become larger, and the quality of public services delivered will worsen.”

To move to that point, there will have to be some radical action on the pace and scale of public sector reform, which will have to start relatively quickly.

You will have seen the report about NHS managers discussing some quite radical potential solutions to the problems in the NHS, including charging for prescriptions or scaling back free prescriptions. Are those discussions happening throughout the public sector? Has the Government charged the public sector with an opportunity to look radically at the basis on which public services are operating in Scotland?

Page 22 of the briefing states that

“The public should be fully involved in the key decisions about how public services need to change”

and how they are reformed. What evidence have you seen that the Scottish Government and other public bodies are engaging with the public? Is there a risk that there may sometimes be a difference between public opinion on a stated public policy objective, such as the creation of a national care service, and the actual deliverability and practical roll-out of that?

For example, the minister said today that the reason why the Government will press ahead with an NCS is that the public support it, but we have stakeholders such as unions, the national health service and those who are involved in care saying that they do not support the model. Is there a risk that public opinion and the reality on the ground may be divergent?

Good morning, Mr Boyle. I want to take up the point about local government flexibilities and ring fencing. Obviously, when the UK Government hands consequentials to the Scottish Government, they come with no strings attached and little in the way of hypothecation, other than, I think, some elements in relation to national insurance contributions. When that money flows to councils, however, there is a significant degree of ring fencing. With the flexibility that you have identified in-year this year, and given that the cost of living crisis and the pressures that we see are likely to last into next year and possibly the following year, should we expect that greater flexibility will be given to councils in their budgets? Would that be desirable at this time?

You referred to IJBs. The briefing states:

“The Scottish Government has requested that some funding which is currently allocated for Covid-19 in integration authority reserves is now used for wider Covid-19 purposes.”

Is it appropriate for the Scottish Government to seek to influence how integration authorities use their reserves? Do you have examples of how that money is being used in other areas?

You mentioned health and social care. The creation of a national care service is attracting significant attention both in Parliament and in the care sector. When we have discussed it previously, you have said that you would not wait until after the event to provide commentary and critique of the national care service. I also note that you said earlier that there is going to be a balance between short-term necessities and longer-term priorities.

Looking at social care and what the Government has brought forward in relation to a national care service, including the financial memorandum that accompanies the bill, is the creation of such a service a short-term necessity or should it be categorised as a longer-term priority? Should we be targeting resource towards the necessity of tackling the crisis in care today?

In paragraphs 72 and 73 of your briefing, you note that the Scottish Government has set up a new public spending portfolio board and a public spending analytical unit to help to drive the required changes and reforms. Are you confident that those organisations will be effective? Could they just further clutter what is already quite a crowded stage?

On the point about the lessons that were learned from Covid, the pandemic precipitated significant changes in the way that certain services were delivered with, for example, drive-through testing and vaccinations and greater use of digital. Are you picking up that those lessons and the capabilities that they could bring to public sector reform are being embraced within and across the public sector?

How would you seek to resolve the tensions that ring fencing creates for local authorities? Would it be through less directed spending?

Mr Johnston, may I hear your reflections on the current financial position and the impact that it might have on delivery of the actions in the second delivery plan to tackle child poverty, particularly in areas such as employability, where there has been a real-terms cut in provision?