1 April 2011
The root-and-branch review of the public sector in Scotland must be accompanied by a re-assessment of funding, according to leading finance directors.
In a joint submission to the Christie Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services, CIPFA and its Scottish directors of finance section say financial sustainability should be at the heart of the debate on reform.
The commission was set up by the Scottish Government last November to examine how better and more citizen-centred public services could be provided in the long term, particularly in the face of the budget cuts. It is chaired by Dr Campbell Christie, former general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress and president of the Scottish Council for Development and Industry.
CIPFA believes that the current system of public finance in Scotland will not help achieve better results. It says: ‘If public sector reform is to lead to better outcomes across the public sector, then we should also consider a more holistic means of funding public services.’
Funding arrangements should have ‘proper regard to the geographic, economic and social characteristics of different localities’, it adds, and the proportion of resources that can be raised locally needs to be examined.
Sandra Black, chair of CIPFA Scottish directors of finance section, said: ‘We believe this would promote accountability for local policy decisions. It would also result in funding mechanisms which financially incentivise local public bodies to grow the economy, attract investment and deliver positive outcomes for the local area.’
The paper questions the policy of ring-fencing certain services against public spending cuts, arguing that ‘protection of major blocks of the Scottish budget does not contribute to the delivery of better outcomes’.
CIPFA Scotland policy manager Don Peebles said: ‘We are looking for a different model of allocating resources in Scotland. Options for reform require to be set within the context of a modernised system of funding which supports the delivery of sustainable public services over the longer term.’
