The Scottish Government has published the finding of the Independent Budget Review, chaired by Crawford Beveridge, which argues that “Scotland needs to decide what form and shape of public services it desires and can afford” and addresses the questions “What do we want the state to do? What level of taxes are we willing to bear for the provision of our public services? How much should we change the mix between the state, the individual, the third/voluntary sector, and the private sector?”

The section that most clearly raises challenges and opportunities for community development is the final one that looks at ‘Shaping the Future’. It argues that “to avoid year-on-year cuts of a random nature – ‘salami slicing’ – the developing response needs to be set in a more strategic, longer-term framework and direction of travel.” It ‘points towards’ “themes and developments which are relevant to any such consideration including … :

• planning for future challenges, such as demographic and environmental change
• sustaining the individual in the community
• enabling self-help and close support
• the concept of self-directed support and personal choice
• realising the potential of preventive measures and early intervention in reducing later demand
• early years prioritisation
• integrated service provision focused on the individual
• shaping organisational boundaries to help, not hinder, service delivery
• employee engagement – skilling, developing and motivating the workforce
• realising the resource represented by increasing numbers of older, active and available members of society
• underpinning and realising the vital role of the voluntary/third sector
• engaging the contribution of the private sector in service delivery and choice.”

The panel also concludes that there is a need to move towards a more outcomes-based approach to public service management and to improve the quality, availability and application of evaluation, monitoring and reporting data in relation to outcomes across the public sector in order to ensure that resources are applied to full benefit.