By Richard Johnstone | 9 December 2013
Holyrood’s finance committee has welcomed the focus on preventative spending in the Scottish Government’s Budget, but warned the approach could be held back by other parts of the public sector.
In a report on the draft Budget for 2014/15, published today, MSPs said there was evidence ministers had been successful in shifting some spending from treating problems, such as poor health and crime, to attempting to stop them occurring.
But the committee said it was concerned not all public bodies were making the decision to move funding from existing services to release the money needed for such an approach.
Committee convener Kenneth Gibson said MSPs recognised that wide-ranging cuts had made it difficult for all public sector bodies to do so.
However, he highlighted a partnership agreement signed between the Highland Council and NHS Highland to integrate services with a focus on prevention, signed in July this year. This showed how the necessary cultural and structural change for a preventative approach could be realised.
‘However, progress would appear to be much slower in other areas, which is why we have asked the government to identify the main barriers to realising change and what actions it is taking to address these,’ Gibson added.
MSPs also backed the renewed focus on outcomes in the draft Budget. The National Performance Framework, which monitors government functions against 50 national indicators, should be more widely adopted to ensure the maximum benefits are realised.
‘The finance committee very much welcomes the NPF and we applaud the emphasis on an outcomes-based approach by the Scottish Government which will support financial scrutiny and accountability,’ Gibson added.
‘However, it also appears that the NPF is not well known outside policymakers’ circles and we believe that the public should be made aware of its importance.’
Following the report, the stage 1 debate on the draft Budget will take place in the Scottish Parliament on December 19.
A Scottish Government spokesman welcomed the committee's report. 'The government has published a draft budget focused on supporting Scotland's economy and public services, in the face of significant cuts from Westminster,' he added.
