24 September 2004
The Scottish Executive is to strengthen its procurement and project management processes in the wake of the Holyrood inquiry report, Finance Minister Andy Kerr said this week.
He told the Scottish Parliament on September 22 that the Executive would step up its modernisation of the civil service to ensure that the lessons of the inquiry were learnt.
He said: 'This is the time to learn from the Fraser report: to signal the end of the civil servant as the gifted amateur. This is the time to make ministerial involvement in key procurement decisions a prerequisite.'
The minister said the Executive needed civil servants to develop their skills and expertise in leadership, policy-making and management.
Kerr's statement came during a parliamentary debate on the report of the Holyrood inquiry published last week. The inquiry chair, Lord Fraser of Carmyllie, said it 'beggared belief' that civil servants had not told ministers about construction management that puts all of the risk in the hands of the client – in this case the former Scottish Office.
PFsep2004
