By David Scott
8 September 2010
Rival politicians and the entire public sector in Scotland need to put aside their differences in an unprecedented effort to save £3.7bn over the next four years, MSPs have been told.
The plea was made by Crawford Beveridge, who chaired of an independent review the Scottish budget, which reported in the summer.
Giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament finance committee yesterday, Beveridge said the political parties and all of the public sector’s ‘clients’– including the NHS, teachers and the unions – had to ‘get their head round the problem and make a go of it’.
He added: ‘If we are looking for a “Robert the Bruce” [the famous Scots king and warrior], I don’t think that’s going to happen. What we are more looking for here is, can we get the “clans” to all come together to try to figure out how to take things forward.
‘Leadership to me is being able to get those “clans”
together…we have got to get people together to make it happen.'
Beveridge’s independent group, set up by the Scottish Government, warned in its July 29 report that up to 60,000 jobs might need to be axed. It said it might no longer be possible to sustain ‘universal’ policies such as free personal care for the elderly and free bus passes.
Beveridge told the committee the report set out several options and it was down to politicians to ‘pick and choose’ the least unpalatable to try to make the savings required.
