Agreement marks key milestone in Scotland's public sector reform
The Scottish Government and COSLA Leaders have agreed Scotland's first Statement of Ambition about how to improve the way local services are delivered.
The Statement, covering public services provided to communities by councils, the NHS, emergency services, and other public agencies, is the first step in a major review designed to put Scotland's 'community planning partnerships' at the centre of an outcomes approach to public services in Scotland.
Local Government Minister Derek Mackay said:
"The Scottish Government's response to the Christie Commission included a commitment to review community planning. We are, in collaboration with local government, delivering on that commitment. As evidence of that, I'm delighted that we have agreed this Statement of Ambition to set out our shared aims for community planning and provide a basis for the work we need to do to make it work more effectively.
"Community planning stands or falls on whether it delivers better outcomes and it must keep up with the pace of financial pressures, changing demography and the growing social needs we face. Effective community planning needs greater integration of services, more focus on prevention and clearer accountability for partners.
"This Statement of Ambition provides a clear framework for how we will achieve that."
COSLA President Cllr Pat Watters said:
"People want the very best results from their public services. To make that happen, the Christie Commission showed that we need to invest in prevention across the whole of the public sector, and do more to ensure that services work together to focus on what matters most to communities.
"Scotland has set out on that journey, and this Statement of Ambition is a major step forward in agreeing ways to ensure that community planning partnerships truly take centre stage in translating public services into better outcomes. Delivering that ambition will require commitment from across the public sector, but we must all rise to the challenge if we are to grasp this unprecedented opportunity to make a real difference to Scotland's communities."
Note to Editors:
* Click here to download The Statement of Ambition
* The Statement marks agreement on the key principles that underpin Community Planning Partnerships and the Single Outcome Agreements that set out what partnerships are responsible for delivering. Detailed proposals, including legislative proposals to strengthen the approach where appropriate, are now being developed, with the aim of taking them forward after the local government elections in May.
* There are 32 community planning partnerships (CPPs) in Scotland which include a range of public bodies and representatives of the private and third sectors and community groups. The aim of community planning is to make sure that people and communities are genuinely engaged in decisions about public services which affect them, and to ensure that organisations work together, not apart, to provide better public services.