Scottish Government sets out public service reform plans
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 2nd July 2025
Scottish Government sets out public service reform plans
The Scottish Government has published plans setting out how public services will adapt and respond to Scotland's challenges around rising demand and costs.
Scotland’s Public Service Reform Strategy is based on three pillars: prevention; creating joined up services; and efficiency. These three pillars build on the vision set out in the 2011 Christie Commission, which the government acknowledges "has not been delivered to its full potential".
The strategy features 18 workstreams, each with a set of commitments that attempt ground its aims in action. The 'Empowering People, Places and Communities' workstream places emphasis on the ongoing Democracy Matters process, and supporting decisions to be made as close as possible to where they will have effect.
This focus on community priorities is welcome, and proper implementation will require high-quality community engagement, meaningful opportunities for co-production, and true community empowerment – all supported by adequate resource and workforce capacity.
The Christie Commission was published almost 14 years ago to the day, laying the groundwork for what has been real progress in developing practice around co-produced, community-led, and person-centred approaches.
And yet, much more remains to be done at the system level. As with the recently published Population Health Framework, it's vital in 2025 that we respond with greater urgency to address the significant challenges Scotland's communities are facing now, and in the future.
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