IN your report of the evidence given by various public sector bodies to MSPs ("Public bodies attacked over a lack of teamwork", The Herald, January 22) you quoted the MSP Mary Scanlon: "In a country of five and a quarter million...
why are we sitting here for three hours this morning asking why our public services can't talk to each other?"
The article also notes the Auditor General's damning reports on the failures of Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) after 10 years.
Their position was defended by witnesses from the CPPs representing local authorities, health boards, Police Scotland and Scottish Enterprise.
I suggest to Mary Scanlon the right question is: why do we have a public sector made up of all these separate and often competing agencies? With the exception of the police the others could be, relatively easily, joined together. This would bring considerable financial savings and better communication, eventually I accept.
The barriers built up by loyalties to their own organisations could be broken down if Government had the will to think imaginatively, and the courage to act.
It might prove surprisingly less difficult that it first appears. I think all this having been a former local authority chief officer and an elected member.
However, I suspect the Government will respond by increasing the responsibilities of CPPs and never think about the potential to radically improve the public services by sweeping away the artificial barriers.
Brian Fearon,
4 The Stables,
Harviestoun Grove,
Tillicoultry.
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