The Scottish Government

Finance Secretary John Swinney on Scotland Performs

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

The Government has now launched Scotland Performs, a website that aims to measure progress as we work towards our over-arching Purpose of creating a more successful country, with opportunities for all to flourish, through increasing sustainable economic growth.

The Purpose provides a clear focus for all of the work of Government - while Scotland Performs is a new framework for public accountability which lays out the best available information on how far we are along this road, and how far we still have to travel.

Scotland Performs tracks key indicators on the economy, on health, on education, and on the environment and shows how well we are doing in delivering our Purpose.

It's not just a toy for statisticians, it's for everybody to be able to check and see whether Scotland's social partnership is bringing real improvements to our quality of life.

And, of course, the information it offers can be a vital part of the National Conversation as people can see for themselves what is happening and form their own ideas and conclusions about the best constitutional future for Scotland.

There is a fundamental principle here, about the public's right to know, and it is one this Government supports wholeheartedly.

Scotland Performs is based on the successful model pioneered in the American state of Virginia. It focuses on the Purpose through a set of seven targets, which show our progress towards achieving the Purpose. It will also show how we are doing on 15 national outcomes through 45 national indicators.

The outcomes refer to the kind of country we want to see - an attractive place to do business, renowned for research innovation, a safe and sustainable place with resilient communities and healthy people. The individual indicators are based on official statistics and research.

This is a significant change in the way Government goes about its business. It is about trusting the citizen and putting that citizen first. It is about remembering that Government belongs not to the politicians but to the people.

You should sample the website. Because it is new not all the information is yet available, but it will grow and develop.

The assessments of Scotland's progress are based on the best, most-up-to-date evidence and are accompanied by notes explaining how our analysts have made their assessment, using clear and objective data.

The information available to us currently means most reported changes are for periods which are wholly or mainly before mid-2007. As more data become available, we will update the site to provide further assessments of progress towards delivery.

I encourage you to go and look and see for yourself how Scotland Performs can be an aid to helping Scotland perform over the long term.

Scotland Performs

This blog is now closed to further comment.

Comments

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• 1. nigel - borders

  Tuesday, June 3, 2008 09:15

  "It is about remembering that Government belongs not to the politicians but to the people."
  
  good to hear
  

• 2. Allan - lothian

  Tuesday, June 3, 2008 13:25

  We finally have a Government that makes itself answerable to the people. It will be useful to see the facts laid bare and not distorted through our negative and biased media. Well done!

• 3. David - Edinburgh

  Wednesday, June 4, 2008 11:41

  I was just browsing the new 'Scotland Performs' website. As John Swinney says, most of the data is from before mid-2007. But I had a quick look through the 45 indicators and I counted about 11 which did have data collected after the SNP took hold as a minority government in Holyrood. Of these 11, I counted about 8 whose trend has not changed, be that up or down, since the SNP gained power. One has got worse since the SNP took power and two have improved. Of the two that have improved, one of those only appears to have improved because of a 'provisional' data point - that is, it's not actually genuine data. I found this disappointing --- and this is before the bubble has burst.

• 4. Ged - London

  Wednesday, June 4, 2008 18:20

  As a Scot living abroad (London) I am happy that Scotland is heading towards the dream that I have always held; Independence. Of course this needs to be done with the co-operation of the Scottish electorate but I am concerned about my status and that of my family if and when we get independence. Will I automatically be given a Scottish passport and what of my child who was born in England? Will she be able to apply? No matter what the official answers may be I look forward to the day when we can take our rightful place on the world stage as an independent country within the borders of the EU.

• 5. Gordon Murray - Livingston

  Thursday, June 5, 2008 00:38

  Watched the BBC Scotland documentry on the Oil business in Scotland 'Truth, Lies, Oil and Scotland'.
  
  Some interesting wee throw aways to catch the attention, but one which raised my eyebrows was the current rates of revenue to the Treasury in London: ie £16bn this year(in March last year according the the Executive apparently I'm sure I recall it was only ~£4.5bn-£5.2bn!) directly from activity in the North Sea but a figure never to my knowledge previously mentioned, ever, £30bn from refined production of petrol, diesel and kerosene?
  
  If a Scottish Chancellor in Edinburgh controlled this sector of the Scottish economy, principally for the benefit of Scots, what would the likely figure be acrueing to a Scottish Exchequer from these sources?
  What scope would this give to improve fuel poverty here, particularly in island and rural communities?

• 6. Bill Howat - Dumfries

  Thursday, June 5, 2008 17:03

  And already the pelters are raining down on this new initiative because it is somehow not"independently"run and is therefore politically biased towards party rather than government.Some people will always be half empty rather than half full.Opposition may be there to hold the government to account,but that shouldn't always mean a knee-jerked negative response constantly without assessing the initiative and reflecting on it.Have a debate in Parliament about it in opposition time,suggest alterations or improvements or introduce some other performance management system in operation in other countries to compare and/or contrast.By quickly trying to rubbish something unconditionally,for the sake of political one-upmanship,they insult our intelligence as it is easy to see through.

• 7. B. Allan - Livingston

  Thursday, June 5, 2008 20:33

  I agree with you. It is exactly that: a knee jerk reaction of vitriol and hatred of the SNP government at practically every turn.I am astounded at the levels the sour labour party and the so-called liberal democrats have sunk to in their responses.That is not the way forward for our fine nation.

• 8. guthrie - burton on trent

  Thursday, June 5, 2008 21:14

  If and when Scotland votes for independence we can hardly expect England to lose £30bn overnight without financial meltdown to their economy. Whether we like it or not this would have such major consequences for Westminster that the scaremongering, to which have become accustomed, would escalate exponentially. I think it would, therefore, be helpful to start talking about Englands future without Scotlands financial support in order for people in general to come to terms with the realities of change both north and south of the border. As we see all too often in marriage breakups, when one party walks away with all the goodies, and leaves the other seriously disadvantaged, bitterness and rancour replace goodwill. This must not be allowed to happen between two countries who can and should continue with extremely close links and cooperation despite going their own way on national policies.

• 9. Gordon Murray - Livingston

  Saturday, June 7, 2008 01:45

  3. David - Edinburgh
  You're a hard man to please, when was the SNP's first Scottish budget approved and passed through it's Holyrood committee stages?
  
  If by 2009/10 things aren't starting to look up on the economy I'll be listening with interest to learn why?

• 10. MK - Glasgow

  Thursday, June 12, 2008 12:43

  I think that the concept of Scotland Performs is fantastic - but I am really disappointed that it only measures 3 areas of public service.
  I'm a Nationalist but I am still not convinced about independence because I know that we are very poorly served by some areas of the civil service - and we certainly have very few who are of the calibre of those at the Treasury (to deal with matters that are currently reserved). I am very impressed by the quality of the SNP Ministers but it is the civil service that is the backbone of the country and until there is a review and all vacancies are offered openly to recruit the best people in Scotland; until the staff can be shown to be representative of the wider public (and not weighted towards those from Edinburgh public schools) and until all departments are subject to evaluation that includes stakeholder reviews, I shall be witholding my YES vote.

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