In 2007 the SNP was elected on a promise to deliver a bonfire of the quangos – but 18 years on, the sprawling labyrinth of government bodies continues to cost taxpayers billions.
There are a staggering 131 public bodies in Scotland, employing thousands of staff and over 800 board members.
New analysis by Scottish Labour has revealed that those board members receive almost £9 million of public money a year for their time – which in many cases will be a matter of days.
More than a dozen people get more than £800 a day and a handful get four-figures sums, with one board member receiving the equivalent to £2,300 a day. Board members on Scotland’s 14 territorial NHS Boards alone receive an eye-watering £1.8 million between them.
At a time when so many public services are stretched to breaking point, the SNP’s decision to keep writing a blank cheque for quango costs is indefensible. We can see that these bodies aren’t delivering good value for money – we just have to look at the state of public services.
Our NHS is stuck in permanent crisis, our schools are tumbling down the international league tables, our entire justice system is stretched to breaking point, and key environmental targets are missed time and time again.
So if these bodies aren’t delivering, why is the SNP so willing to throw money at them? The SNP wants to maintain this bureaucratic monster because it serves as a shield for government failures.
We’ve seen it over and over again – when scandals occur in the NHS local Boards are to blame.
When John Swinney attempted to downgrade the exam results of working class pupils during the pandemic, that was really the SQA’s fault. When lifeline ferry services descend into chaos it’s CalMac’s fault – or maybe it’s CMAL, or Transport Scotland, or FMEL. It’s hard to keep track.
Over and over again, mistakes aren’t the SNP’s fault – some arms-length body you’ve never heard of is actually to blame. And while the SNP uses government bureaucracy to dodge responsibility for its failures, Scots are paying for the privilege of being palmed off.
The SNP’s addiction to waste is bad for taxpayers, bad for public services and bad for trust in politics.
My promise to you is that the Scottish Labour government I lead will end the SNP’s quango culture and restore accountability in politics. We will return government to the business of public service.
That means making sure public money is spent delivering for the people of Scotland instead of funding jobs for the boys. It means cutting red tape and bureaucracy across government and put hardworking frontline staff first.
In our NHS, we will cut the number of boards so that funding goes to local services instead – more nurses, fewer executives.
Across the board, we’ll push power and resources out into communities instead of leaving it in the hands of board members and quango managers.
It’s time for a change in direction – lets deliver it together.
GRANGEMOUTH
For too long the SNP and the Tories have stood idly by while iconic industrial sites fell like dominos.
Key assets were abandoned, public contracts were sent abroad and by the time the Tories left office, manufacturing jobs in Scotland were at a 15 year low. But that has changed with this Labour government.
Labour has delivered action instead of the cruel indifference of the Tories and the empty platitudes of the SNP.
Look at Grangemouth – for over a decade the Tories and the SNP ignored the growing challenges at the site, but within months Labour committed £200 million package to secure its industrial future.
Now the government has acted again to protect British steel. This is the difference it makes to have a government on the side of working people and industry.
The contrast with the Tories couldn’t be clearer – but this is also a break with the SNP’s approach.
Under the SNP, Chinese steel is used to build Scottish bridges, Scottish wind turbines are built in Indonesia and Scottish ferries built in Turkey and Poland.
Labour is stepping up where the Tories and the SNP have failed to defend the national interest, safeguard jobs, and secure the UK’s industrial future.
CLYDE COLLEGE
At Clyde College I saw first-hand how important colleges are. They provide opportunities for Scots, strengthen communities, and help deliver skills of our economy – but it’s now been confirmed the SNP is cutting funding for colleges despite Labour’s record budget settlement. We need to support colleges so they can create opportunities and drive growth.