Remit of the Independent Budget Review
The Scottish Government has commissioned an independent review of public expenditure in Scotland. The purpose of this review will be to inform public and Parliamentary debate in advance of the next Comprehensive Spending Review, expected in autumn 2010, about the challenges, and choices that will exist in a significantly constrained public spending environment and to ensure priorities can be established.
The Review will consider the implications of forecasts of reductions in public spending in Scotland in the short and medium term for the patterns of public spending that have developed since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament.
The Review will consider the implications of these forecasts on spending programmes with a view to ensuring the long term sustainability of public spending in Scotland, incorporating evidence of demographic change. In doing so, the Review Panel will take into account:
(i) The importance of identifying options that support delivery of the Scottish Government's Purpose and the framework of National Outcomes;
(ii) The importance of efficiency and value for money in spending programmes and the contribution that local government, other agencies and the third sector make to the effective delivery of outcomes and services;
(iii) Forecasts of future economic growth in Scotland and the UK as a whole and the types of government intervention that contribute most to stimulating the economy;
(iv) The importance of protecting and supporting the most vulnerable in our society;
(v) The importance of designing public services around the needs of the citizens who use them;
(vi) The appropriate balance between government, community and individual action in the delivery of the outcomes that matter most to them;
(vii) The importance of responding effectively to the challenges presented by climate change;
(viii) Distinctions between public goods and services that are provided on a universal basis and those which are not.
The Review will make recommendations about the options for delivering public services within the constrained public expenditure environment in Scotland, which will be published.
The Review will be conducted by three individuals with a broad range of public and private sector experience (who were appointed on February 11, 2010). The review will report by end July 2010.