Scotland’s new Public Service Reform Secretary has ‘big job to do’

The man tasked with reshaping Scotland’s public services has said his new role in John Swinney’s cabinet is both “encouraging” and “daunting”.

Ivan McKee accepted he has a “big, big job to do here” after being appointed to the role of Public Service Reform Secretary following last month’s Holyrood election.

He had already been working on reforms in his previous government job as public finance minister, adding the First Minister’s decision to include the new post in the cabinet “absolutely” shows the importance of such changes.

While he added that there have been some “good examples” of reform already such as the creation of single police and fire services, he said: “We recognise we need to do more, we need to do it faster.”

The Scottish Government faces a £4.7bn gap in its finances by 2029-30 without changes being made.

McKee, speaking to the Press Association ahead of a Holyrood debate on public services reform on Thursday, insisted that plans are in place to deal with that.

But he added that the reforms he is championing will make a “significant contribution” to this effort.

The Scottish Government has already saved hundreds of millions of pounds through measures such as improved procurement systems, greater use of digital technology and more collaborative working.

But analysis suggests targeting investment on preventative work – such as efforts to tackle child poverty – could avoid up to £2.9 billion of public spending in the future, the government says.

The Public Service Reform Secretary believes changes can be made within the five years of this Holyrood term, as he stressed making services more efficient could also make them better for the people who use them.

“We need to make a difference on this fairly quickly,” McKee said.

“People should see probably two things, services should be easier to access, more responsive, more joined up and providing a better service.”

But he also said that those working in the public sector – and even people using services – should be “empowered” to “identify opportunities for improvement and get those listened to”.

He will be working with Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth, and his successor as public finance minister Hannah Mary Goodlad, looking at services across all government departments.

This approach will allow fellow cabinet secretaries, such as Health Secretary Angela Constance and Justice Secretary Neil Gray, to focus on the “day to day” part of their role while he looks at “what needs to change”.

McKee explains this approach is being adopted because “trying to do the change while you are doing the day-to-day is difficult”.

He said: “I have worked as a minister for a number of years and I have been doing work on public service reform for a couple of years, and a lot of the foundations for this I have put in place.”

For this work to be “recognised” by him being brought into the cabinet was “encouraging” and “reassuring”, he said, adding: “It is daunting as well because there is a big, big job to do here.”

But he stated: “It is great, I have got the backing of the First Minister, the Deputy First Minister and whole of cabinet behind that, but there is a lot to do and it is very important we get it right.”

He insisted the public sector leaders he met, together with Swinney and Gilruth earlier this week, were “very much up” for change.

But due to the scale of the challenge, he added: “I won’t pretend there won’t be bumps in the road. We’re going to have to work with partners and face into challenges as we come along.”

Unions will also be involved in the process, McKee added, and he wants to hear from opposition parties at Holyrood about what changes they think should take place.

While the First Minister has been critical of Reform UK, the Public Service Reform Secretary made clear he will talk to “everybody” at Holyrood on the issue.

He said: “I am keen that opposition parties are bringing forward constructive suggestions.

“We don’t own all the good ideas, there will be many pieces of work they think can add value to this agenda, we’re very interested to hear from them. We will listen to everybody.”