Public sector reforms could be ‘building blocks of independent state’ – minister

New organisations set up as part of planned public sector reforms could be the “building blocks of an independent state”, the Scottish Government minister in charge of such changes said.

Public service reform secretary Ivan McKee said while changes to Scotland’s local authorities and health services were necessary, they could also provide the institutional structures if Scotland were to become independent.

Speaking at a fringe event at the SNP conference in Aberdeen, McKee said the Government was “going into the public service reform agenda with a great deal of ambition and a great deal of pace”.

He said this was “because it is needing done, but also because it is the building blocks of an independent state”.

With Scotland facing a looming budget spending gap of almost £5 billion by the end of the decade, McKee accepted that the “fiscal challenges” were part of the rationale for the reforms.

Changes outlined by First Minister John Swinney in his Programme for Government could see the number of regional health boards in Scotland cut from 14 to two.

The SNP leader is also proposing a restructuring of Scotland’s councils, replacing the current 32 local authorities with between six and 10 new strategic authorities, to work alongside up to 160 smaller community bodies.

Speaking on Thursday, McKee said that the changes were taking place “in recognition that we have got challenges to deliver public services, they are absolutely not where they should be”.

While he added there were exceptions to this, the public service reform secretary said: “For the most part, the public should expect better”.