We want public service reform! When do we want it? Erm…

In his foreword to the Christie Report, Campbell Christie urged the Scottish Government to act quickly and decisively, but let’s be honest we’ve ambled a bit. So would a deadline – a clear indication of when we want public service reform and all the benefits that come with it to be complete – help Christie getting going? When I think of deadlines, the famous quote from Douglas Adams often springs to mind:

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.”

None of us (I imagine) are big fans of deadlines, but there’s nothing like a looming deadline to prompt action. Maybe we could learn from the Welsh Government’s Commission on Public Service Governance and Delivery. Its report, published last month, has given the Welsh a deadline: public service reform has to commence immediately and be completed within the next three to five years.

Progress on implementing ‘urgent’ and ‘sustained’ reform to Scotland’s public services has ground to a near halt

We’re now over two and a half years since the publication of the Christie Commission’s report, but progress on implementing ‘urgent’ and ‘sustained’ reform to Scotland’s public services has ground to a near halt. The frustrations among many, including contributors to the commission, are visible. So do we need to give Christie a deadline? What would happen if we turned around to the Scottish Government and said: “You’ve got three years to get this done?” Would this be the prompt our policy makers need to drive progress on Christie forward? That’s not to say that we’ve done nothing since Christie but progress is slow and so far has been primarily focused on structural changes. The concepts of Christie have been grasped by our policy makers but practical implementation of these changes has been lacking. I’m not saying I don’t want careful, measured, consideration of change. Change is complicated and it’s hard. If we’re going to reform our public services let’s do it right. However, we cannot afford to adopt a lackadaisical attitude to reform.  In years to come we don’t want still to be discussing the change we want without having made any progress towards making it happen. Despite the near daily reminders of financial challenges, of an ageing population, and of a disengaged population burdened with inequality, I can’t help but think that our policy makers are just not feeling pressure to do anything about Christie.  Wales has the right idea. [info-box penguin='https://cms.scvo.org/wp-content/gallery/info-box-penguins/faq-woman_cogs_news.png' penguinposition='left' penguinheight='150' cornerclass='sborderc' cornercolour='' columns='1' columnwidth='250' fontsize='14' padding='20'] Interested in public service reform? We're having a free event on the issues at The Gathering on 19 February. Book your place at Putting People First: How can we reshape public services? [/info-box]