COSLA isn't working
I nearly choked on my cornflakes yesterday - while reading a report in the Sunday Herald - in which COSLA condemned council bureaucrats for 'blocking reforms' in Scottish local government.
Here's an extract of the Sunday Herald piece - by Tom Gordon.
Bureaucrats blocking reforms told ‘stop it, for Christ’s sake!’
"Senior managers across Scotland’s public sector are blocking the long-term reforms needed to cope with shrinking budgets and spiralling demand for services, one of the leading figures in local government has admitted.
Rory Mair, chief executive of local authority umbrella group Cosla, said the “tyranny of bureaucracy” was frustrating moves towards a greater sharing of services, and a shift to so-called “preventative spending”, which aims to nip social problems in the bud rather than spend large amounts of money picking up the pieces afterwards.
Mair suggested frontline staff were ready to make the changes, but managers were resisting because it could affect their personal fiefdoms. He said part of the problem also lay in managers being rewarded for meeting targets based on treating problems rather than preventing them arising in the first place.
He said: “Partly, it’s people like controlling their own budgets. So stop it, for Christ’s sake! The tyranny of bureaucracy – ‘I’m responsible for a local government budget, you’re responsible for a health budget’ – that’s got to change.”
Mair was speaking out in the wake of last week’s report by the Christie Commission on public services which said duplication was “rife” between different bodies with common goals."
Now unless I've missed something this is by and large the same COSLA - and the same COSLA chief executive - that's been around for the past 10 years or so.
Yet during all that time I've never read about COSLA's crusade against council bureaucracy - it's news to me and many others as well, I imagine.
But let's not be churlish - COSLA's new found commitment on the back of the Christie Commission's report - is to be welcomed.
I just think we should be told which Scottish councils Rory Mair is referring to - because I'm sure he has some evidence and examples to back up his claims.
Name and shame the buggers - that's what I say - then we can all enter the debate on equal terms.
One final thing - do you think Rory Mair's 'stop it, for Christ's sake' quote - is for real?
Don't you think it should be - 'stop it, for Christie's sake' - because that would make much more sense.
Or am I just being cynical?
Here's an extract of the Sunday Herald piece - by Tom Gordon.
Bureaucrats blocking reforms told ‘stop it, for Christ’s sake!’
"Senior managers across Scotland’s public sector are blocking the long-term reforms needed to cope with shrinking budgets and spiralling demand for services, one of the leading figures in local government has admitted.
Rory Mair, chief executive of local authority umbrella group Cosla, said the “tyranny of bureaucracy” was frustrating moves towards a greater sharing of services, and a shift to so-called “preventative spending”, which aims to nip social problems in the bud rather than spend large amounts of money picking up the pieces afterwards.
Mair suggested frontline staff were ready to make the changes, but managers were resisting because it could affect their personal fiefdoms. He said part of the problem also lay in managers being rewarded for meeting targets based on treating problems rather than preventing them arising in the first place.
He said: “Partly, it’s people like controlling their own budgets. So stop it, for Christ’s sake! The tyranny of bureaucracy – ‘I’m responsible for a local government budget, you’re responsible for a health budget’ – that’s got to change.”
Mair was speaking out in the wake of last week’s report by the Christie Commission on public services which said duplication was “rife” between different bodies with common goals."
Now unless I've missed something this is by and large the same COSLA - and the same COSLA chief executive - that's been around for the past 10 years or so.
Yet during all that time I've never read about COSLA's crusade against council bureaucracy - it's news to me and many others as well, I imagine.
But let's not be churlish - COSLA's new found commitment on the back of the Christie Commission's report - is to be welcomed.
I just think we should be told which Scottish councils Rory Mair is referring to - because I'm sure he has some evidence and examples to back up his claims.
Name and shame the buggers - that's what I say - then we can all enter the debate on equal terms.
One final thing - do you think Rory Mair's 'stop it, for Christ's sake' quote - is for real?
Don't you think it should be - 'stop it, for Christie's sake' - because that would make much more sense.
Or am I just being cynical?
