This paper analyses the economic and social challenges facing Scotland’s public services. It examines how the radical reform of services could help.

Key findings:

• Public spending in Scotland faces substantial reductions, which could risk significant economic and social harm.
• Scotland faces some deeper social challenges than the rest of the UK. Services need to innovate to better respond to complex social problems.
• We propose new powers and responsibilities for leading authorities and public bodies.
• New community status would grant more public services access each year to a ‘rebate’. It would also mean an obligation to conduct a local assessment of where, and how effectively, resources are currently spent.

This paper is an independent analysis of the economic and social challenges facing Scotland’s public services, and how the radical reform of services through innovation could help to meet some of these challenges.

It argues that innovation – developing new approaches that are better at preventing and solving problems for and with citizens – is critical to making sustainable savings in public services and to ensuring a stronger, safer, healthier and more productive Scotland.

Authors:
Laura Bunt and Michael Harris, with Ruth Puttick