Improving Public Service Scrutiny in Scotland
Following the Scottish Governments' initial response to the Crerar Review, published in January 2008, the government made a commitment to report to Scottish Parliament on the direction of travel being taken to deliver change and improvement to the landscape of scrutiny and complaints handling of public services in Scotland.
In November the Finance Minister, John Swinney published proposals aiming to introduce a more simplified and coherent approach to public service delivery including a much clearer role for public bodies. The proposals include:
- A new health scrutiny body will bring together the functions of NHS Quality Improvement Scotland and the Mental Welfare Commission, and the scrutiny of independent healthcare currently undertaken by the Care Commission
- The Scottish Charity Appeals Panel will be abolished once the Government has publicly consulted and agreed upon where its functions will sit in future
- Complaints handling will be simplified. The Government will discuss with the Parliament whether Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) could handle complaints about the water industry and from prisoners. This would lead to the abolition of Waterwatch; water customers would be represented by Consumer Focus (formerly the Scottish Consumer Council)
- The Government will also discuss with the Parliament whether the Scottish Prisoner Complaints Commission should become part of the revised functions of the SPSO
- A single body will look at care and social work, taking on the functions of Social Work Inspectorate Agency, the Care Commission and HMIE's current responsibilities for child protection
The reforms are part of Scottish Government's ongoing commitment to deliver a simpler, more effective government and will help reduce Scotland's national public organisations to 121 by 2011.