The Scottish Government recently launched its first multi-year Resource Spending Review since 2011, outlining proposed spending plans on administration and the day-to-day delivery of services and programmes, such as school meals, concessionary bus passes and most public sector staff salaries.

In publishing the review framework, Scottish Government pledged to take an outcomes-focussed, evidence-based, and consultative approach to the review process, which it aims to complete by May 2022.

The David Hume Institute responded to questions on the spending priorities indicated by the review, the primary drivers of public spending, the public sector workforce, equality, and achieving value from public sector spending. 

About our submission
DHI welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the review and our response drew on a number of our recent research projects. Broadly, we call on the Scottish Government to:

• More clearly situate the Review Framework and its priorities within the overall context of Scotland’s existing National Performance Framework to focus on long term change

• Prioritise cross-government collaboration including focusing on tackling tensions between different policy areas in addressing the Scottish Government’s priorities 

• Ensure demographic change is factored into resource spending and planning, including better recognising the contribution older people make to society and the economy 

• Revise its modelling of the impact of rising inflation, which is now likely to exceed previous estimates

• Include climate change as a key driver of public spending, as well as being a resource spending priority

• Use public procurement and planning policy as a means of prioritising long term gains to maximise the impact of public spending

• Take action to radically shift to preventative spending, as suggested over 10 years ago by the Christie Commission

• Improve equality by reforming local taxation

DHI recognises that the challenging economic conditions mean tough choices will need to be made. There is a need to be transparent about priorities and trade-offs. A mature debate will ensure that political point scoring doesn’t increase polarisation in society and negatively impact on the economy. We welcome the pragmatic cross-party approach and look forward to further conversation.