John Swinney’s ham-fisted carve-up of the NHS and councils could prove to be a golden ticket for a legion of fat cat bosses.
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up → prove → bosses
It is becoming increasingly clear that the First Minister’s supposedly bold and ambitious plans for public sector reform were sketched out on the back of a cigarette packet.
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plans → become → packet
This week, the Scottish Mail on Sunday revealed that health boards had been kept in the dark about Mr Swinney’s aim to reduce their number from 14 to two.
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boards → reveal → two
It seems extraordinary that no consultation took place, or at least it would in any normal universe where the SNP wasn’t in charge.
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SNP → seem → charge
But this is par for the course for a secretive regime accustomed to doing as it pleases, with minimal warning or discussion with those affected.
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it → accustom → those
The sense of chaos was compounded by a car-crash interview at the weekend from Deputy First Minister Jenny Gilruth, who appeared entirely unclear about the SNP’s proposals for streamlined local government.
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who → compound → government
Hard-pressed Scottish taxpayers will continue to fund the growth of John Swinney's failed state, writes Graham Grant
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Grant → press → state
These would involve replacing councils with between six and ten ‘regional authorities’ and a further 120-160 ‘community authorities’ which sound suspiciously like, well, councils.
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which → involve → councils
It could yet transpire that the SNP’s bid to make the state smaller and more efficient achieves neither objective.
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state → transpire → objective
In fact, it is beginning to look more like a bumper payday for many already well-remunerated NHS and council executives.
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it → begin → executives
Compulsory redundancies are said to be off the table; given the power of the unions, that is hardly surprising.
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that → say → unions
Ministers appear unwilling to pick a fight with organisations capable of making life politically very uncomfortable, which raises an obvious question.
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which → appear → question
If senior officials are not leaving, where exactly are they going?
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they → leave → ?
The answer may be that many are simply absorbed into the payrolls of the new structures, strategic bodies and quangos Mr Swinney intends to create.
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Swinney → absorb → structures
In that scenario, reform becomes a jobs merry-go-round, with officials stepping off one gravy train only to board another, at considerable expense to taxpayers.
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officials → become → taxpayers
The unresolved question is whether any of this will improve public services and whether the customer – or, more accurately, the taxpayer – will notice any difference.
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customer → improve → difference
Mergers, restructurings and grand announcements have a habit of generating new layers of management while leaving frontline services much as they were before.
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they → have → services
The danger is that Scotland ends up with exactly what it has now: the same bureaucracy, the same costs and the same problems – only with different names on the organisational chart.
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it → end → chart
It is worth remembering that the transformation of exams agency the SQA into Qualifications Scotland was, frankly, little more than a rebranding exercise.
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transformation → remember → exercise
The shop front changed, but largely speaking the management did not – yet this cosmetic makeover, superficial as it was, cost a great deal of money.
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it → change → money
It was established in 2013 ostensibly as a way of saving cash, although we were also told it would create a superior service by ending back-office duplication and sharing resources.
Yet the single force has become a basket case, overwhelmed by controversy on an almost routine basis and apparently in the grip of perpetual managerial turmoil.
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force → establish → turmoil
Ministers responsible for creating Police Scotland are either long gone or sit quietly on the sidelines – pretending none of it is happening.
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none → create → it
It is not uncommon, however, to hear SNP ministers speak about this new model of policing as though it were a template for the large-scale re-think of the NHS and local government that Mr Swinney now proposes.
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Swinney → hear → that
Given the force’s turbulent history, that is hardly an encouraging sign.
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that → give → history
It also remains entirely possible that this latest initiative is smoke and mirrors – a charade designed to create the appearance of action.
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initiative → remain → action
After all, if the First Minister and his officials have not even spoken to the bosses of health boards about their plans, does that not suggest Mr Swinney’s blueprint is somewhat insubstantial, to put it diplomatically?
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blueprint → speak → it
A great many livelihoods may potentially be on the line further down the food chain from the executive tiers – and many hard-working NHS staff will be justifiably concerned about their future.
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staff → work → future
There was, however, an alternative path – if only the SNP had possessed the courage to take it.
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SNP → be → it
Ministers might have weeded out the countless diversity managers and other non-jobs which have sprung up like knotweed.
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which → weed → knotweed
That would have involved the sort of bold and difficult decisions civil servants like to describe as ‘challenging’.
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servants → involve → decisions
There is no real evidence Mr Swinney would have had the courage to take such a hardline approach.
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Swinney → be → approach
Yet, ironically, he is now contemplating a far more fundamental reorganisation – one that is bound to create even greater confrontation with the unions.
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that → contemplate → unions
In the past, Mr Swinney and his predecessors have repeatedly caved in to eye-watering pay demands from unions.
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Swinney → cave → unions
It therefore seems highly unlikely that this time around he will suddenly discover an appetite for taking on the union barons.
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he → seem → barons
He and his Left-wing colleagues will not want difficult stand-offs with unions if they can possibly avoid them.
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they → want → them
Meanwhile, SNP backbenchers are likely to become restive as this process unfolds.
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process → become → ?
Many will fear a jobs bloodbath in their own constituencies as workers fall foul of the SNP’s axe.
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workers → fear → axe
Yet the First Minister is determined to have his cake and eat it.
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Minister → have → it
One minute he rails against ‘Tory austerity’ – the next he boasts about his determination to eliminate waste.
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he → rail → waste
This is despite the fact that his own administration has presided over years of excessive spending and the proliferation of largely pointless quangos.
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administration → preside → quangos
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
