Swinney takes the bull by the horns
John Swinney announced his Programme for Government yesterday in Holyrood on the same day as the new Prime Minster, Andy Burnham, made his first major speech to parliament in another place.
Both men have everything to prove, both face significant political and economic challenges and, on yesterday’s evidence, both want to be seen as reformers.
By any reckoning, Swinney set out a bold statement of intent – arguably the most radical of the devolution era. By outlining his ambitions for far-reaching public service reform and putting more priority on getting Scotland’s economy moving, Swinney has signalled a recognition of the scale of the challenges the country faces and a renewed seriousness about tackling them. His approach also represents a decisive break with the performative politics of the recent past.
The sweeping changes to NHS Scotland’s governance structures will be grabbing the headlines, but it is hard to argue with the direction of travel: we don’t need fourteen management structures; we need frontline services that deliver. The challenge will be in ensuring that rationalisation of bureaucracy doesn’t end up centralising service delivery even more than at present. We can use technology to our advantage, but we also need to work with the realities of Scotland’s geography and existing infrastructure.
Radical public service reform carries a great deal of political risk for Swinney’s government, but risk goes hand in hand with opportunity.
Rationalisation of public bodies should be good news for businesses that currently have to engage with numerous agencies just to get projects moving – the example cited yesterday of bringing SEPA, NatureScot and FLS together will make sense to stakeholders who currently have to navigate multiple interfaces on related topics. Done right, this won’t just save money; it will improve our competitiveness.
Likewise, local government reform offers the potential for greater strategic leadership at regional level - great news for economic development - but, again, needs to avoid a centralising vortex. A real test of regionalisation – a counterpoint to the Burham ‘devolution revolution’ in the English regions – is whether the Scottish Government will have the appetite to disperse strategic decision-making and resources away from the Central Belt.
For the North-east, more opportunity to drive regional economic development would only be a good thing. In terms of yesterday’s announcements, the commitment to match fund a £40 million donation from the Wood Foundation is to be welcomed, as are a slew of significant and strategically beneficial Just Transition Fund allocations. The openness to increased partnership working is also a positive sign.
When we look under the bonnet, though, it is clear there’s still a great deal to be worked out. There’s a distinct lack of detail on the more substantial proposed areas of reform. The First Minister’s announcement of “intensive” consultation over the next three months reflects his government’s lack of a parliamentary majority as much as a desire to collaborate with stakeholders. So far, the minority Swinney government has been relying on the Greens for parliamentary support. The Programme for Government suggests he may have to look further afield for endorsement. He needs to take parliament with him if he is going to persuade a sceptical public to embrace significant change.
Big ideas, then, and not yet a lot of detail, but Swinney should be commended for grabbing the bull by the horns, facing up to Scotland’s deep economic and demographic challenges, and not shirking his responsibilities. He is leading from the front, but it will now be incumbent on others to do likewise, working constructively in parliament across party lines to deliver better outcomes for people and communities.
Yesterday John Swinney stepped out of his predecessors’ shadows and put his own stamp on the Scottish Government. He told us where his priorities lie, indicated that he is ready to make hard decisions, and sent a clear message that he intends to use the powers at his disposal to reset the dial on devolution.