19 October 2007
The convener of an influential parliamentary committee has voiced doubts about the creation of a single scrutiny body for Scotland, warning that it could lead to 'over-centralisation'.
Andrew Welsh, a Scottish National Party MSP who is convener of the Scottish Parliament's finance committee, welcomed the recent independent report by Professor Lorne Crerar, which recommended a radical reduction in the number of scrutiny organisations.
However, Welsh warned that there was an 'obvious danger' in Crerar's ultimate goal of replacing the existing 63 regulatory bodies with a single scrutiny organisation.
Speaking during a debate in the Parliament, he said: 'Yes, Minister warns us not to create a department of administrative affairs. There is no point replacing over-proliferation with over-centralisation.'
Welsh added that effectiveness and efficiency were the keys to progress in any reform: therefore a single ultimate scrutiny body would have to be clear about its own checks and balances.
He said: 'The Crerar report's conclusions about the clutter, duplication and unsustainability of the present proliferation of scrutiny bodies are right. It is a useful starting point from which to produce a practical, simplified, accountable and efficient scrutiny system.'
Welsh commended the work of Audit Scotland, the existing public spending watchdog. He said it combined thorough investigation, analysis and recommendations with the spreading of good practice, sound finance and good governance while respecting the integrity of the organisations being scrutinised.
Leading Scottish government ministers are also thought to have reservations about the creation of a single scrutiny body. They might produce proposals to extend the use of Best Value, the system used to scrutinise the performance of councils.
PFoct2007
