The Scottish Council Foundation has published a paper on the future of public service reform in Scotland.

Directed or Devolved? The Future of Public Service Reform in Scotland looks at how the current debate about the future of public service reform (PSR) is shaping up, what the issues are and the extent to which they mark a break or shift from the last 10 years. It highlights the contested and more consensual areas of reform, and the extent to which Scotland appears to be diverging from England.

KEY POINTS

Public service reform (PSR) is driven by major changes arising from the ageing population, globalisation, climate change, technological advancements, as well as rising and different expectations of service users. UK evidence shows some public services need to work better for certain groups, and are lagging behind standards in other countries.

The future development of PSR is also driven by new pressures, political changes and fresh evidence of the limitations and failures of some PSR policies.

There is no overwhelming agreement about the future direction of reform as opinions reflect the intense political nature of the debate.

Nevertheless, there are some common strands emerging from recent debates about the future of PSR. These include:

• the need for more honesty and openness about the trade-offs and prioritisation involved in decision making
• a greater emphasis on balancing citizens' rights and responsibilities
• more local decision-making
• a focus on outcomes rather than processes, inputs and outputs
• replacing a blame culture with learning and knowledge sharing as a way to foster innovation.

Political differences and events make it more likely than in the past that Scotland will increasingly diverge from England - both in terms of public sector policies and in relation to the reform agenda.