Does a civil service shake-up loom in the £1bn crackdown?
She was not someone who tolerated unwise spending by family members or by her employer.
I can't remember exactly what the issues were that so exercised her in her office many years ago, but it's clear concerns surrounding the inefficient use of public resources persist to this day.
READ MORE:
Scottish Government confirm plan cut to public sector 'waste' by £1bn a year
STUC leader in warning to Swinney ahead of £1bn crackdown on public sector 'waste'
SNP ministers to unveil £1 billion crackdown on public sector 'waste'
What's behind the Scottish Government drive to cut public sector 'waste'?
It's a matter that John Swinney identified back in 2011 setting up the Commission on the Future Delivery of Public Services in Scotland, chaired by Dr Campbell Christie, which had been tasked with examining the long-term challenges facing public services—including budget pressures, demographic change, rising demand and persistent inequalities.
The Commission's report called for preventative and collaborative approaches to address systemic challenges, prioritising prevention to reduce long-term costs, enhancing performance through technology, and closer working across sectors.
In a speech on Monday, Mr Swinney referred to the creation of Police Scotland, where the country's eight police forces were amalgamated into one organisation, as one of the "key successes" from the Christie report noting the restructure had led to over £200m a year in savings.
Speaking in Holyrood today public finance minister Ivan McKee said a further £280m in efficiencies savings had been made through other changes such as cutting down on duplication and through the greater use of technology.
But his aim is to save a further £720m to reach a target of £1bn by 2029/30.
It's a huge ambition and one likely to require significant changes, ones well beyond cutting down on duplication and greater use of AI and review of the running of costly its buildings and estates.
The elephant in the room is of course the number of public bodies and the number of people they employ.
There are currently 130 quangos, and 55 civil service directorates in the Scottish Government covering a wide range of responsibilities, including one for the constitution, another for the EU, multiple ones relating to health, energy and climate, the environment. The list goes on.
The obvious question is does Scotland need 55 civil service directorates and 130 quangos?
It's significant I think that both Mr Swinney and Mr McKee have been talking up the reorganisation of Police Scotland and the amount of money the restructure has saved - £200m a year.
Against such a backdrop it would be no huge surprise if major restructures were on the cards for other organisations.
But such major changes could well lead to rows with the trade unions - with the STUC already issuing a warning to the government about its reforms.
So while Mr McKee has laid out his initial plans today, he and his colleagues may well be putting off the harder spending and restructuring decisions until after May 2026 election.
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