2. Scope
⢠Why small matters: the âbiggingâ of the
Scottish state
⢠The limits of big Government
⢠Going small: going local
⢠The better role of big Government
3. âBigging the Systemâ:
Lowest Level of Functional Government
⢠Very small number of very large councils
⢠Lowest ratio of councillors and councils to
population in Europe
⢠Limited fiscal and constitutional empowerment
⢠Low voter turnout: limited confidence
4. Some Comparisons
⢠Norway: 19 counties and 434 municipalities
(4,676,305)
⢠Denmark: 98 municipalities and 5 âregionsâ
(5,515,575)
⢠Finland: 20 âregionsâ and 342 municipalities
(5,255,068)
5. âBigging the Systemâ: Looking Back
⢠Scotland 1974: 203 councils; diverse rather than
uniform; 50% local taxation
⢠Scotland 1996: 32 councils; uniformity of
functions and empowerments; under 20% local
taxation
⢠Loss of major functions: public health;
community health care; college sector; police and
fire services
6. Range for Neighbourhood Scores
(2011/12)
⢠Income deprivation: 3% - 53%
⢠Crimes per 10,000: 51 â 3,180
⢠S4 tariff score: 79 â 288
⢠Emergency Admissions
per 100,000: 5,812 â 22,794
⢠Emergency Admissions
65+ per 100,000: 8,602 â 55,769
8. Government Finance and Demand
2009/10 â 2017/18 (% real terms)
NB. Projected cash cuts from 2016/17 â 2018/19
9. Going Small: Going Local
⢠The mantra: co-production; âcapacityâ building;
social âcohesionâ/âcoherenceâ; âassetsâ based
approaches, etc.
⢠ButâŚ.
â Affluent communities with good outcomes
â The poor value that marginalised
communities get from public services
â The resource lock: research; policy; training
and management support
10. Small Grants
⢠Projects or people
⢠Resourcing challenge; change proposals;
lobbying, etc.
⢠Bottom up co-productionâŚ.on the communities
terms
11. Scaleability
⢠Why?: supporting particular communities on
their terms
⢠Principles: subordination of expertise to the
community; inclusion; choice and respect
⢠Solving the public sector problem
(universalisation: solving the communities
problem (particularisation and intimacy)
12. The Role of Big Government
⢠Macro-economic, fiscal and welfare policy
⢠Inequality cannot be resolved solely at
community level
⢠International comparisons show link between
income inequality and other inequalities
13. End Points
⢠We need to scale down: go granular
⢠Supporting communities to shape public
services
⢠Invest in peopleâŚ.not projects