SNP public sector reform risks 'decade of distraction', warns Labour
Michael Marra said Scotland faces ‘inertia, confusion and delay’
John Swinney’s planned public sector reforms risk a “decade of distraction”, the leader of Scottish Labour has said.
Michael Marra said the First Minister was proposing to “spend years and untold amounts of money pulling things apart with no clarity of reason”.
It came as he warned homelessness is rising, while Scotland is on course to miss its legally binding child poverty targets “by a mile”.
Mr Swinney previously unveiled plans to slash the number of health boards in Scotland from 14 to two, as well as overhauling local government.
However, he has been criticised by opposition politicians for failing to come forward with detailed plans for reform.
Speaking during First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood, Mr Swinney said eradicating child poverty is an “absolute priority”.
Mr Marra replied: “The First Minister says this is an absolute priority. The government is not consumed by these urgent issues.
“They are instead setting out, without a clear purpose or a plan or a process, to upend the whole of our NHS, our social work system, all of our schools and the entirety of local government, all at the same time.”
He said the “sheer scale of this confusion really matters when it comes to the housing emergency action plan”, while the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has warned the public sector reform programme “risks distracting everyone from the child poverty mission”.
The Scottish Labour leader added: “Far from pulling everyone together, the First Minister is planning to spend years and untold amounts of money pulling things apart, with no clarity of reason and with no plan as to how.
“Nobody I meet can explain any of this, including the First Minister. Scotland risks a decade of distraction unless the First Minister sets out a purpose and a plan. Will he do so now?”
Mr Swinney said the Scottish Labour manifesto pledged to reduce the number of health boards from 14 to three.
“I think members of the public will be utterly bewildered - the very few people who voted Labour in Scotland at the election will be bewildered that Mr Marra fought an election saying we have to reduce the number of health boards, and then after the election, when he gets defeated very heavily, he comes here and criticises me for advancing on health board rationalisation measures,” he said.
He told MSPs there were “a range of interventions being made by the government” on homelessness, while also stressing the “absolute priority the government attaches to eradicating child poverty”.
READ MORE: John Swinney urged to give full details on public sector reforms after 'masterclass in evasion'
Speaking after FMQs, Mr Marra said: “No-one knows how the proposed public service reforms will improve services and outcomes, because the Scottish government has not told anyone.
“No-one knows how to meaningfully feed into the process because, frankly, there isn’t one. Scotland risks a decade of distraction unless the First Minister sets out a purpose and a plan.
“The reality is that Scotland faces inertia, confusion, and delay – all while outcomes for people in Scotland continue to decline.”
Analysis by Heriot-Watt University for Crisis Scotland recently found the number of Scots facing the worst forms of homelessness could be cut by 47 per cent by 2028 if ministers make the right interventions.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.