9. SUMMARY
The conference considered public sector reform, in particular, sharing and integration within and between the Police and Fire services. There is broad agreement that reform is necessary and a recognition that we are currently using archaic structures to deliver modern services and failing to fully recognise customer needs and aspirations.
However, the conference highlighted that it is necessary to consider not only shared services within and across the Police and Fire Services but to look across the whole of the public sector, taking into account disparate views. Clear direction is required from the Scottish Executive, and with it a framework for action for national, regional and local service delivery. The direction needs to be under-pinned by a fresh set of principles based upon:
- Sharing
- Integrating
- Taking one view of the customer
- Sharing information
Some progress has been made within the Police and Fire services but this has been limited to internal functions only. The starting point for reform should be to map what services communities need and create a capability framework to deliver those services at four levels, recognising that the balance between the four levels may be different for different organisations:
1. Neighbourhood and community
2. Basic command and operation
3. Strategic
4. National
It is important that all key public services are involved, including the Health Service.