Background

The Conference

One year into the term of the new administration, Scotland 08 is ideally timed to make a first assessment of the priorities of the Government and consider how they will take forward their key strategic objectives.

The conference will provide a forum for discussion and the sharing of ideas and best practice that will enable participants to gain practical insight into how to meet the challenges ahead to deliver world class public services and contribute to the sustainable economic development of Scotland.

Participants will receive guidance on the latest strategic and policy developments and discuss the challenges that departments and organisations face, to meet the targets set out in the public sector reform agenda, that ultimately contribute to the achievement of the Government’s ambitions for sustainable growth and national prosperity.

Consideration will be made to practical and innovative approaches that are being implemented to address the challenges right across public services – through collaboration with private partners, the third sector and community stakeholders as through streamlining operations, sharing services or improving procurement.

Background

2007 was a dramatic year in Scottish politics with a change in power at Holyrood producing the first ever SNP administration.

The Government has declared its commitment to increasing the success and prosperity of Scotland through sustainable economic growth and key to the delivery of the strategy is the alignment of the public sector to support Central Government goals.  The public sector occupies a prime position as a conduit for the delivery of the Government’s plans and the continued drive to improve public services is pivotal to the achievement of these goals. To be effective, organisations must internalise and demonstrate a commitment to The Purpose and to the achievement of objectives. All must deliver on their respective roles to secure a wealthier & fairer, smarter, healthier, safer & stronger, and greener Scotland.

The 2007 Strategic Spending Review announcement raises the question as to how the sector can fulfil the Government’s objectives to drive up standards and deliver customer-focused services, when settlements across public services have tightened.

In education, the Government has promised to reduce class sizes in Primary 1 – 3 to 18 or fewer and vowed to match the previous administration’s extensive PPP/PFI school building programme ‘brick for brick’ through a new funding mechanism to be called the Scottish Futures Trust. Further up the scale, a key objective is to provide opportunities to Scots to succeed from nurture through to lifelong learning, ensuring increased aspirations and achievements.

Improvements in the other main service area of Health will be a key sector in which we will be able to assess whether the Government succeeds in giving greater power to Health Boards while achieving their targets on waiting times and other measurements of success. Health service has been a battleground between the centralising pressure from clinicians, eager to have centres of excellence, and the demand from patients and their relatives to have services provided as locally as possible.

In crime fighting they promised to recruit 1000 extra police officers, later modified to 1000 more on the beat in communities through retention and redeployment as well as recruitment. By the time we meet it should be clearer whether this is being achieved and, if so, what effect it is having on the levels of crime.

There are also competing pressures on transport expenditure between improving roads for the private motorist and developing a fast and efficient public transport system. The first SNP budget gave the greatest increase to the road building programme so we can examine if this has improved journey times and road safety and whether there has been a consequent effect on public transport.

The conference is ideally timed to make a first assessment one year into the new administration of whether they have developed new practical and innovative ways of addressing the challenges right across the public sector. Delegates will have the opportunity to hear from and question some of Scotland's leading politicians and experts in what will be an exciting and unique occasion.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Testimonials

"The event was useful in helping to emphasise the desire across all sectors of public service in Scotland to improve service delivery to and outcomes for citizens and to consider radical changes to existing structures and processes to achieve this aim"

"A very good conference with some important messages to note. The Finance minister made it clear that reforms would happen sooner rather than later "

"The conference was very well organised and provided good networking opportunities"

"A useful event that highlighted how much there is to do to transform public services in Scotland"