Why Labour's bonfire of the quangos should happen even if they don't win Scottish Parliament election
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar’s call to ‘tear apart this wasteful and ineffective labyrinth of public bodies’ must be heard by all parties
There is a conundrum that lies at the heart of Scottish politics. On the one hand, UK taxes are at historically high levels and, in Scotland, they are even higher because of decisions made at Holyrood. Yet many public services – from the NHS and the police to universities and colleges – are cash-strapped and struggling to cope.
Why are we paying so much and getting increasingly poor services in return? Whether it’s scandalously long waiting lists for medical treatment or ‘minor’ crimes the police refuse to investigate, there are many sources of public discontent about vital services.
The answer surely lies not in how much money is spent but how it is being spent. The NHS provides a particularly good example.
Cut NHS bureaucracy
Scotland, with a population of about 5.5 million, has 14 territorial health boards. In contrast, Yorkshire and the Humber, population nearly 5.7 million, has just four ‘integrated care boards’.
So it seems clear there is considerable scope to cut the amount of NHS bureaucracy in Scotland to free up more money for frontline services and make life better for patients and staff.
Speaking ahead of Scottish Labour’s party conference in Paisley, Anas Sarwar argued correctly that public services were “at breaking point” and state-funded quangos were a significant part of the problem.
A source of hope
In total, Scotland has 133 devolved public bodies, a number Sarwar said he would cut by a third – with those 14 health boards reduced to just three – over the course of the next parliament if he becomes First Minister. “It’s time to tear apart this wasteful and ineffective labyrinth of public bodies and focus on delivering for the people of Scotland,” Sarwar said.
This plan represents a source of hope that a way can be found to make the public realm fit for purpose, that services will not have to be cut ever closer to the bone and taxes will not have to skyrocket even higher.
So even if Labour fails to win the next election, as looks increasingly likely, the next government should consider their bold strategy – or Scotland will remain stuck in its current mess with little chance of escape.
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