09 June 2006
Finance Minister Tom McCabe has announced an independent review of the system of scrutinising and regulating public services in Scotland.
McCabe said the investigation would complement wider Scottish Executive initiatives aimed at reforming public services and ensuring that taxpayers' money is used efficiently and effectively.
The review would examine concerns about potential duplication and overlap in the scrutiny sector and the burden on service providers.
McCabe said the Executive was determined to ensure the delivery of top-quality public services focused on the needs of the people who use them.
'We are undertaking a wide range of work to reform public services in Scotland, including a discussion document that will step up the pace of reform, and this independent review is a crucial part of that work,' he said.
'We need a regulatory system that is fit for purpose. Everyone with an interest, particularly the public, should be assured about standards and able to hold providers to account.'
The review body will be chaired by Professor Lorne Crerar, managing partner in a Scottish law firm and until recently convener of the Standards Commission of Scotland.
The Executive said the review would look at how improvements could be made in inspection, regulation, audit and complaints handling for public services in Scotland. It would make a range of recommendations 'to streamline the current system'.
The inquiry comes at a time when concern has been voiced about the growing number of scrutiny bodies, commissioners and 'czars'.
In a recent Public Management and Policy Association lecture in Edinburgh, auditor general Bob Black called for a rationalisation, saying inspection, regulation and audit had grown in recent years and there was the risk of 'overlap'.
The Scottish Parliament's finance committee is already carrying out its own inquiry into accountability and governance. The Executive said the independent review would take account of other work, including the MSPs' inquiry.
Crerar said the review represented a 'daunting but interesting and exciting challenge'. Describing the remit as very wide ranging, he said he would ensure the review provided 'meaningful and purposeful recommendations'.
The remit will include setting out priorities for change and any legislative or organisational requirements.
In a report to the Parliament's finance committee this week, Audit Scotland said there was a need to investigate the costs of various public sector commissioners, including the possibility of sharing services and offices.
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