Swinney urged to 'get on' with crackdown on commissioners in Scotland
The programme for government includes plans to consolidate the number of commissioners
John Swinney has been urged to "get on with slashing waste" after announcing plans to crack down on the number of commissioners in Scotland.
The First Minister’s programme for government, setting out his legislative agenda for the coming years, proposes to consolidate the number of such officeholders.
It follows warnings that a “proliferation” of commissioners has created a “tangled web of complaints provisions” north of the border.
Scottish Conservative public reform spokesman Murdo Fraser said ministers must now take action.
“For years, the SNP have presided over bloated public sector bureaucracy, creating more and more commissioners while ordinary Scots are told there is no money for the services they rely on,” he said.
“It is welcome that John Swinney now appears to recognise that there is room for rationalisation amongst commissioners, but Scots have heard promises of public sector reform from the SNP for years.
“After almost two decades in power, it is not good enough for ministers to simply acknowledge the problem.
“They need to get on with cutting duplication, slashing waste and making sure taxpayers’ money is spent on frontline services.”
There are currently nine commissioners or ombudsmen, including the Scottish Information Commissioner, the Patient Safety Commissioner, the Children and Young People's Commissioner, the Scottish Biometrics Commissioner and Scottish Human Rights Commission. A tenth - a Victims and Witnesses Commissioner - is expected to be added.
In 2024, Rosemary Agnew, the then Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, raised concerns about the financial burden created by new organisations, as well as the complexity of the existing landscape in Scotland, which she said was difficult for people to navigate.
"For the user, the scrutiny landscape should be simple to access, they should find a clear pavement to an open door,” she said. “Instead, the current position is more like crossing a cobbled Edinburgh street to then find steep stairs to a basement with several badly lit and confusingly signed doorways. And then, having knocked on a door, being told that part of them can enter that door but the other part needs to go next door.”
She said she was “very concerned that those most in need of the services will simply fall though the gaps that an increasingly complex environment creates”.
Ms Agnew made the comments in written evidence to Holyrood’s finance committee, which was holding an inquiry into the “commissioner landscape” in Scotland.
It found there was a “disjointed landscape comprised of a collection of individual bodies, with varying functions and powers” and “evidence of duplication and overlap”, and a subsequent review recommended the number of such “advocacy type” roles should not be expanded.
However, it concluded the existing bodies provided “a unique and necessary contribution”.
Mr Swinney’s programme for government, published on Tuesday, pledges to “work with parliament to build on the previous committee reviews into the parliamentary commissioner landscape with a view to consolidating their number while protecting their functions”.
It forms part of wider plans for public sector reform, including slashing the number of NHS boards in Scotland from 14 to two.
A Scottish government spokesperson said: “Our commitment to public service reform is focused on delivering on the things that matter most to the people of Scotland, including more efficient public services, easier access to the NHS and supporting people with the cost of living crisis.
“The programme for government makes clear that all public bodies are within scope of public service reform, and that we will work with parliament and other stakeholders with a view to consolidating the number of commissioners while preserving their essential functions.”
The list of commissioners and ombudsmen in Scotland is as follows: Children and Young People's Commissioner Scotland, Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland, Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland, Scottish Veterans Commissioner, Scottish Human Rights Commission, Standards Commission for Scotland, Scottish Information Commissioner, Scottish Biometrics Commissioner.
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