Tag: cuts

Holyrood: Have your say on Public Service Reform

With the Scottish Government aiming to deliver average savings of £0.5bn a year to public services over the next three years, Holyrood’s Public Service Reform Committee is seeking views on how achievable the proposed public sector reforms are.

The Committee has today launched a consultation asking how barriers to progress with reform can be overcome; how preventative approaches to spending can be promoted; and how the delivery of public services can be simplified.

As part of its pre-budget scrutiny work, the Committee will also consider whether there is sufficient clarity around how front-line roles, which are to be protected, are defined.

Speaking as the call for views launched, Committee Convener Bob Doris MSP, said: “A Spending Review demanding £1.5bn worth of public sector efficiencies, lays bare the need for us to understand the detail of how these savings are to be made and fundamentally, how they will shape public service delivery.

“Funds designated for prevention must also be put to good use and the simplification of services must lead to positive outcomes for both the provision of services and expenditure.

“We’d like to hear from those who lead, deliver, and rely on public services about what steps can be taken to remove barriers to more progress with reform, support preventative approaches, and ensure that efficiencies do not undermine frontline delivery.

“Our scrutiny will help shape the Scottish Budget before it is finalised, so contributions at this stage are especially valuable.”

The Committee is keen to hear from leaders in the public sector; community planning partnerships; trade unions; academics and think tanks; third sector representatives and staff who deliver services within or on behalf of the public sector.

The call for views closes on Friday 14 August 2026 after which the Committee plans to take oral evidence, before reporting to Parliament late October/early November this year.

Read the questions and submit your views on Citizen Space

QUESTIONS

  1. The Scottish Government aims to deliver on average £0.5 billion in savings through efficiencies per year for the next three years (2026-27 to 2028-29): 
    1. To what extent are these savings achievable, and how will they shape public service delivery? 
       
    2. What progress is being made towards achieving these efficiencies? 
       
    3. What are the barriers to achieving greater efficiency and how can these be addressed? 
  2. How should the Scottish Government best present the extent of any realised efficiencies in the annual budget publication, including providing clarity on whether these are expected to be recurring savings? 
     
  3. The Fiscal Sustainability Delivery Plan aims to achieve an average reduction of the public sector workforce of 0.5% per year over five years.
    1. To what extent is this target achievable and how will it shape public service delivery?  
    2. What progress is being made towards achieving this target?
  4. What actions can the Scottish Government take to ensure these workforce reductions are delivered in a managed way which best supports effective government and public service delivery?
     
  5. The PSR strategy states that it will protect frontline services. To what extent is there sufficient clarity about how frontline roles are defined and how efficiencies in back-office functions can be delivered in a way that minimises impact on the delivery of public services? 
     
  6. Beyond the financial benefits that the Public Sector Reform (PSR) Strategy aims to achieve, what are the key outcomes that reform should be aiming for? 
     
  7. The PSR Strategy includes 18 different workstreams which aim to remove barriers to reform.  One workstream focuses on “simplification”, recognising that “complexity of processes, structures and reporting requirements is a key barrier to effective and efficient service delivery”. “Prevention” is one of three pillars providing structure to the Strategy.
    1. What should the Scottish Government’s priorities be under its simplification workstream and what level of savings can be achieved through this approach? 
       
    2. What progress has been made to date with preventative budgeting?
       
    3. How should the forthcoming Budget support greater progress towards preventative budgeting across the devolved public sector? Please set out any barriers and how these can be addressed. 
    4. What changes to the Scottish Government’s approach to budget-setting are needed to effectively deliver public service reform? 
  8. The Scottish Government included an upfront Invest to Save Fund of around £30 million in the 2025-26 and 2026-27 Scottish Budgets for reform projects that will deliver ongoing savings and support the delivery of the PSR strategy.  
    1. To what extent is the Invest to Save Fund delivering projects that achieve ongoing savings?  
       
    2. How are successful outcomes from this Fund being shared more widely across the public sector? 

550 jobs to go as BBC announces £160m cuts programme

The ‘savings’ announced yesterday will deliver around £160m of the £500m target of savings over the next three years

The BBC has confirmed the first phase of its proposals to make £500m of savings over the next three years.

Staff were informed today that 550 roles would be closed across the News, Nations and Content divisions by the start of 2027/28. These divisions would also be making a reduction in commissioning spend of around £80m by the end of 2027/28.

The savings announced today will deliver around £160m of the £500m target, which will see an overall reduction to headcount of around 1,800 to 2000 and a cost reduction of 10%, over the next three years.

Further savings across all divisions will be set out in the coming months. This includes corporate divisions, where around 700 roles are expected to close.

Proposals announced today:

BBC Content

  • A target to deliver a minimum of £100m of recurring annual savings by the end of 2027/28
  • A reduction of around 100 roles by the end of this financial year
  • A review of broadcast TV channels and radio network portfolio as audiences move online
  • A reduction of 100-150 hours of originated programmes across all commissioning genres by the end of 2027/28
  • In audio, by the end of 2027/28 we expect a reduction of around 350-400 hours across stations and genres, while protecting many of our prime daily programmes

Nations

A total of £33m of savings by the end of 27/28, with the expected closure of around 250 posts in this first phase expected to be broken down as follows:

  • Savings of £9m in Wales and a reduction in headcount of around 50 roles
  • In Northern Ireland, £4m of savings and up to 50 roles
  • In Scotland, over £10m of savings and up to 60 roles
  • In BBC Local, £9m savings and around 90 roles

News

  • Proposals outlined today will save around £25m, with a net reduction of around 200 roles for this first phase. You can read more information on those changes here.
  • BBC News will be reducing costs by at least £51m by next April with further announcements expected over the next few months detailing further post closures amounting to a level similar to that announced today.

Staff have been told voluntary redundancy will be available, but compulsory redundancies are also possible.

Programme closures will be guided by three main principles:

  • To sustain output with the highest audience value and impact
  • Meet audiences where they are, reducing spend elsewhere
  • Make the BBC simpler and faster – reduce duplication, clarify accountability, and increase the speed of decision making. This includes reducing senior leaders by at least 10%

Further announcements will be made in due course.

The NUJ has warned that further brutal BBC cuts will be “devastating” for workers and audiences, urging management and the government to prioritise investing in the broadcaster.

The NUJ had previously sounded alarm after the BBC announced plans to cut between 1,800-2,000 jobs as part of a 10% reduction to its total costs by the end of 2028-29. 

Matt Brittin, BBC director general, yesterday (17 June) announced that the first wave of cuts could lead to a reduction of 550 roles across the BBC’s news, nations, and content teams.

Subsequent communications from BBC management have confirmed that BBC News would lose around 200 roles while BBC Nations would lose around 250 roles – including around 90 roles in BBC Local – “with further reductions to come”.

Many divisions have already started offering voluntary redundancy, with Brittin stating that the BBC will “work hard to avoid” compulsory redundancies.

In addition to cuts to jobs, the BBC plans to close programmes – including Radio 4’s The World Tonight and the Midnight News and the World Service’s The Conversation and The Fifth Floor. On BBC One, the Sunday morning edition of BBC Breakfast will end this September. 

The director general has also announced an £80 million reduction in commissioning across news, nations and content for 2027/28, alongside a review of the broadcaster’s TV and radio stations. 

The BBC said it plans to “prioritise digital content” and “making greater use of mobile technology” instead of using crews to film stories. 

The NUJ has called for the BBC to change course and for the UK government to provide urgent intervention to stop the constant cycle of cuts to jobs and programming.

Laura Davison, NUJ general secretary, said: “Largescale cuts to the BBC would be devastating – not only for dedicated workers at the broadcaster whose jobs are at risk – but also audiences and communities across the UK.  

“The need for accurate, independent, locally relevant and universally accessible journalism is greater than ever with increasing media monopolisation, mis- and disinformation, and AI fake news rife on social media.   

“This is not the time for the BBC to retreat from its public service commitments and its core mission to inform, educate, and entertain. The BBC cannot provide quality journalism without the talented and experienced workers who make it possible.  

“Our members are already being asked to produce more with fewer resources, leaving workers across newsrooms at risk of burnout. Previous rounds of cuts have resulted in unmanageable workloads, low morale, loss of staff, and fewer opportunities for freelances or career progression.  

“This constant cycle of cuts and cost-saving must end. With Charter Renewal underway, the BBC and government should instead be focussing on securing positive reforms that guarantee a bright future for our public broadcaster.  

“Our ‘Back The BBC’ campaign sets out members’ priorities for Charter Renewal: increased funding, worker representation on the BBC board, and truly independent governance.   

“However, Charter Renewal won’t come soon enough to stop these cuts, which is why we are calling on the government to urgently intervene.   

“The NUJ will be supporting members collectively and individually though these difficult times. We strongly encourage BBC workers to stand with us and get involved in the union. Working together gives us a stronger collective voice and helps us fight to protect jobs and programming.”

Charity warns lives are at risk as specialist funding withdrawn

Deaf Action says EIJB decision has left some people in dire situations

The lives of deaf people have been put at risk by Edinburgh Integration Joint Board’s (EIJB) decision to withdraw specialist social work funding, according to Scotland’s leading deaf-led charity.

Deaf Action is urging Edinburgh’s health and social care body to reinstate the services, including social work support, specialist equipment and preventative, community-based assistance with immediate effect.

The organisation argues that the EIJB’s decision contradicts council leader Jane Meagher’s claim that a four percent rise in Council Tax will see it “protecting frontline services for those most in need of our support”.

Deaf Action has highlighted numerous examples of how the decision has affected the deaf community in the city, including one of a woman who had a ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ (DNR) order added to her medical records after a stroke because staff thought she couldn’t communicate.

In fact, as a British Sign Language (BSL) user she needed an interpreter and it was only an ad hoc welfare visit to the woman in hospital by a BSL-using Community Care Assistant that identified the problem. The woman involved was too unwell to be interviewed for this press release.

Deaf Action’s campaign has won the support of several MPs and MSPs, including the deputy first minister, Kate Forbes.

Philip Gerrard MBE, chief executive of Deaf Action, said: “Edinburgh once had specialist, deaf-led BSL-first services that helped people navigate daily life in their own language. Those services have been dismantled, one after another, and the result is that deaf people are now being pushed into generic systems that are not designed for BSL users.

“When you take away that language provision, you take away accessibility. It increases the risk of people being misunderstood, left isolated or falling through safeguarding gaps. The Council must restore these services as a matter of urgency.”

Jennifer Staples, who was born deaf and has lived in Edinburgh all her life, relied on Deaf Action’s specialist BSL-led support for more than four decades.

Through regular access to a dedicated social worker and later community-based services, she was able to manage everyday tasks, understand important correspondence and live independently with confidence.

Since the withdrawal of these services, Jennifer says she has been left struggling to navigate basic aspects of daily life, facing increasing isolation and uncertainty.

Jennifer said: “Every Thursday I knew that there was a two-hour slot, I could see a social worker, a person I knew, and I would go regularly. They could sign fluently and we communicated directly. But then the contract was changed and I was lost. It’s so different going through an interpreter. There were barriers everywhere.

“For example, I had a problem with my gas meter. The company stopped sending me printed bills and sent emails instead. They put on my account that I was deaf, but they kept trying to call me and I obviously can’t take a phone call.

“Nowadays I have to ask my family for help, but they don’t have any time, so I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. It’s really stressful. I’m worrying about it all the time and I don’t sleep well because of it.

“I really hope that the Council brings something back for deaf people in Edinburgh – we need support.”

Deaf Action points to a further example of a deaf man with special educational needs who went without heating for four months over the winter due to communication failures within generic social care services.

Despite raising concerns, he did not fully understand the advice given by a visiting social worker about arranging an engineer, leaving the problem unresolved from November until February.

Deaf Action argues that the replacement of specialist provision with generic services is a false economy. The charity produced a cost analysis study which concludes that removing specialist deaf-led support does not eliminate need or reduce public spending; instead, it shifts demand into far more expensive crisis services.

Three key services have been cut in sequence over the past 18 months:

  • Deaf Social Worker (cut September 2024) – specialist, deaf-aware support with cultural understanding and BSL-first assessment and safeguarding
  • Specialist Equipment (March 2025) – deaf-specific equipment such as alerting systems, with repairs, replacements and specialist advice
  • Community Care Assistant Service (November 2025) – deaf-led, preventative support helping deaf people navigate health, care and day-to-day life

Philip Gerrard added: “The cuts contradict Scotland’s stated ambition under the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act, passed a decade ago, to be the best place in the world for BSL users to live, work, learn and visit,

“And this all comes just a few months after a UK Government report (link below [1] ) called for the reintroduction and strengthening of the role of specialist social workers and sensory teams across local authorities”.

As well as calling for the reintroduction of the specialist services, Deaf Action wants the Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership to publish a full equality and social impact assessment that considers the cumulative effect of the cuts.

Philip Gerrard, who has met with the City of Edinburgh’s leader, Jane Meagher, and Connor Savage, the Chair of its Integration Board, said he hopes constructive discussions can continue.

REPORT: Locked out: Exclusion of deaf and deafblind BSL users from health and social care in the UK (full report – BSL and English versions)

Scottish Secretary: Power to the People!

It is time for a new crusade for devolution within Scotland, Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander will say today

In a speech to council leaders, the Secretary of State for Scotland will make clear that there is no route to a decent and prosperous Scotland without strong and effective councils. And to ensure that, the Scottish Government must properly devolve funding and powers to Scotland’s local authorities.

Mr Alexander will set out how the promise of devolution has not been delivered, with the Scottish Government deprioritising councils for funding, and centralising powers at Holyrood.

Twenty five years on from the advent of devolution, Mr Alexander will call for a new crusade for devolution within Scotland, for a proper debate on the delivery of powers from Holyrood to the regions and communities of Scotland.

Mr Alexander is expected to say: “During recent decades, Scottish local government has been systematically deprioritised for funding. Scotland’s local authorities have watched their powers being pulled to Holyrood rather than further devolved to local communities.

“There has never been a point where councils have been so persistently on the defensive – fighting cuts on an annual basis in order to defend an ever-shrinking core of services from further erosion.

“The Scottish Parliament should have heralded a new era of powers, esteem and resource – not just for Scotland, but also for Scottish local government. And yet the reality is that Scottish local government has been systematically starved of funds over the last two decades. 

“At exactly the same time as these funding cuts we have also seen the systematic centralisation of decision-making in Holyrood, including on policing and fire and rescue. At the same time the Scottish Government has constrained council tax powers via national freezes and caps. 

“It is now time for a new crusade for devolution within Scotland, to reach back to the core principles upon which our parliament was founded and restore the values of devolution. We must allow the Scottish Parliament to realise its potential to deliver change and reform for the people of Scotland. And Scotland’s local authorities, regardless of party allegiance, must be at the forefront of that cause.”

Mr Alexander will make clear this debate must be guided by the principle that powers are best exercised as close as possible to the people, rather than hoarded centrally, to the exclusion of local decision-making and accountability.

‘Cruel Cuts’: Trussell urges UK government to think again

15,000 people in disabled households in Scotland will be forced into severe hardship if the UK government goes ahead with cuts to social security, warns Trussell

  • New report reveals hundreds of thousands of people will be pushed into severe hardship if government goes ahead with ‘cruel’ cuts to disability payments
  • 15,000 more people in disabled households will be at risk of needing to use a food bank

New analysis from anti-poverty charity Trussell has found that 15,000 people in disabled households across Scotland will be forced into severe hardship and at risk of needing a food bank in 2029/30, if the UK government goes ahead with planned cuts to social security.

The report – produced by economic and public policy experts WPI Economics for Trussell – models the projected impact of proposed changes to social security for disabled people on the number of people facing hunger and hardship in Scotland, a measure of deep poverty which captures people at risk of needing to use a food bank now or in the future.

This new analysis comes just weeks after it was revealed that almost 240,000 emergency food parcels were distributed by the Trussell community across Scotland during the past year. This is equivalent to one parcel every two minutes and a 101% increase compared to a decade ago.

Across the UK, it is projected that 440,000 people in disabled households will be forced into severe hardship. It also shows that the UK government’s planned increase to the basic rate of Universal Credit will move 95,000 people out of severe hardship – which Trussell says is clear evidence this welcome step cannot possibly make up for the sheer scale of the damage of cuts. The net impact of reforms will still be around 340,000 more people in disabled households facing hunger and hardship.

Trussell warns that UK government’s proposed £7 billion cuts to support for disabled people are likely to undermine its goal of increasing employment and will drive higher costs for public services.

Trussell and WPI Economics have shown that even before these cuts, the ongoing failure to tackle hunger and hardship leads to the Scottish government spending an additional £860m a year on public services alone, like the NHS, schools and children’s social care.

As MPs prepare to vote on legislation to introduce the cuts, Trussell is urging the UK government to think again and halt these damaging cuts to support for disabled people. They will be condemning hundreds of thousands of people to severe hardship and piling the pressure on food banks across the country, which are already stretched to breaking point.

As well as axing the proposed cuts, Trussell is calling on the UK government to bring forward the planned increase to the basic rate of Universal Credit so it comes into full effect from April 2026, rather than April 2029.

Cara Hilton, senior policy manager for Scotland at Trussell, said: “This UK government was elected on a promise of change, and with a commitment to end the need for food banks. If the government goes ahead with these ill-considered and cruel cuts to social security, this promise will not be kept – and instead, they will risk leaving behind a legacy of rising poverty and hunger.

“Tackling fiscal challenges should not be done at the expense of people already facing hunger and hardship. These cuts will force 440,000 people in disabled households into severe hardship and leave them at risk of needing a food bank. We urge the government not to continue down this damaging path.

“We support the plan to reform employment support and help more people into work, where their health allows this and accessible jobs are available, but these proposed cuts will utterly undermine this goal. Slashing support will damage people’s health and reduce their ability to engage in training and work.”

Craig Crosthwaite, manager at North Ayrshire Foodbank, said: “Most days we see people coming to the food bank who have a disability or are caring for someone with a disability in their household.

“Social security payments do not allow people to afford the essentials, and this is amplified when you are also dealing with the extra costs of managing a disability. Life simply costs more for disabled people.  We fear that should these cuts be forced through Parliament, we will see many more people being forced to access our help.”

You can find out how many emergency food parcels were distributed in your area, and write to your MP to express your concerns at these cruel cuts, on the Trussell website: https://campaign.trussell.org.uk/parcels-by-postcode

hunger_and_hardship_final_report (1)Download

Government-branded merchandise and away days banned

Spending taxpayer money on unnecessary branded merchandise and staff ‘away days’ will be banned in the latest crackdown on wasteful spending across Government departments

  • Government doing away with costly away days and pricy merchandise
  • Every pound of taxpayer money targeted on securing Britain’s future through the Plan for Change, delivering security for working people and renewal for our country
  • Part of crackdown on wasteful spending in government in favour of ‘a more productive and agile state‘

Spending taxpayer money on unnecessary branded merchandise and staff ‘away days’ will be banned in the latest crackdown on wasteful spending across departments.

Staff training and development are key to boosting productivity, but officials will now be instructed to hold training and team-building exercises and ‘away days’ in government buildings that are available for free, instead of hiring external venues.  

Thousands of pounds have also been spent in recent years on goods branded with department logos or slogans—including mugs, jumpers, water bottles, and even fidget cubes. 

Such spending will be banned, focusing funding where it matters to working people such as rebuilding the NHS and strengthening our borders.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Pat McFadden MP, said: “By cutting wasteful spending we can target resources at frontline public services with more teachers, extra hospital appointments and police back on the beat.

“We will use taxpayers’ money to deliver our Plan for Change, kick-starting economic growth, rebuilding the NHS and strengthening our borders.”

The Cabinet Office has set out requirements for all departments to review their policies on procuring corporate-branded and non-essential merchandise, with a view to restricting future purchases. 

These stricter rules will permit government merchandise only when essential for delivering the government’s agenda, for example, in overseas trade and diplomacy, to promote growth.

Further measures will require departments to ensure that external venues for away days are only used when space in government buildings is unavailable.  

This announcement builds on plans to significantly reduce the approximately 20,000 government credit cards in circulation. Last week, all departments and their public bodies were instructed to freeze their cards, with cardholders required to reapply under tighter new guidelines.

Coalition raises concerns as new figures highlight cuts in specialist support for vulnerable children to a record low

  • Decline in the number of specialist ASN teachers to a record low
  • More than doubling in the number of pupils with additional support needs since 2014

The Scottish Children’s Services Coalition (SCSC), an alliance of leading providers of specialist care and education to vulnerable children and young people, has raised concerns over cuts in specialist support being provided to those with additional support needs (ASN).

The call comes as new figures from the Scottish Government’s annual teacher census indicate that the number of specialist ASN teachers has fallen to a record low of 2,837 in 2024.1

In contrast, the number of those pupils with ASN has soared to a record high, now amounting to 40.5 per cent of the pupil population. 2 This includes those with mental health problems, learning disability, autism and dyslexia.

These numbers have been increasing for years. Indeed, more than doubling(102.4 per cent) over the last decade to 284,448  pupils, a rise from 140,501 in 2014, when those with ASN represented 20.8 per cent of all pupils.

Between 2014 and 2024 the number of ASN teachers (publicly funded primary, secondary, special and centrally employed) has fallen from 3,077 to 2,837, a record low and a decrease of 240 teachers.

In 2014, while each ASN teacher was supporting 40 pupils with ASN, by 2024 this figure had risen to each teacher now supporting 100 such pupils.

Against a background of spending cuts and reduction in specialist support, the SCSC has called for greater resourcing from both the Scottish Government and local authorities to ensure that those with ASN, who are disproportionately drawn from poorer neighbourhoods, are getting the care and support that they need. 

The coalition has also raised concerns about the effectiveness of a presumption of mainstreaming, meaning that all pupils are educated in a mainstream educational environment unless exceptional circumstances apply, without the necessary support.

A spokesperson for the SCSC commented: “It is vital that those with ASN get the care and support they need. This is also key if we are to genuinely close the educational attainment gap as we know that those with ASN are disproportionately drawn from poorer neighbourhoods.

“With cuts in support, including in the number of specialist teachers, it is going to be extremely challenging to reduce the current inequalities faced by those with ASN.

“While we also support the presumption of mainstreaming, which means that all children and young people are educated in a mainstream educational environment unless exceptional circumstances apply, it is clearly difficult to see how this is functioning properly given the fall in specialist support and increase in the number of those with ASN.

“The Scottish Government and local authorities need to work together to provide the necessary resourcing to address the needs of those children and young people with ASN, who represent some of the most vulnerable individuals in our society. “

1 Scottish Government, Teacher census 2024 supplementary statistics, 25th March 2025, table 6.7. Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census-supplementary-statistics/ (accessed 25th March 2025).

2 Scottish Government, Pupil Census 2024 supplementary statistics, 25th March 2025, table 1.5.

Available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/pupil-census-supplementary-statistics/ (accessed 25th March 2025).

Royston Wardieburn’s creative writers celebrate Windows To Our Past

Royston Wardieburn Community Centre’s social history group launched their new publication, ‘Windows To Our Past’, at the Centre on Thursday.  

Windows to our Past: A  Collection of Stories from North Edinburgh remembers times long gone and also pays tribute to the local people – activists, volunteers, class mates and good friends – lost in recent years.

The group worked with creative writing tutor Jim Aitken to produce Windows To Our Past and members read a selection of their stories to an appreciative audience.

There were lots of laughs – the event opened with a comical This Is Our Lives sketch performed by the group – but there was time for reflection, too.

Some We Remember, a slide show created for the event, brought back a wealth of poignant memories of fondly-remembered activists no longer with us – men and women who each in their own way dedicated much of their lives to making the North Edinburgh community a better place to live.

The perennial challenge of fighting for adequate resources goes on, of course, and the latest round of funding cuts has seen North Edinburgh’s community centres and local projects fearing for their futures once again. In a discussion following the launch, however, it was clear that the appetite to campaign to challenge cuts to local resources remains as strong as ever.

The fight goes on – and, as a previous publication produced by activists urged: NEVER GIVE UP!

THE QUIET REVOLUTION

by SANDRA MARSHALL (2009)

And what about the quiet revolution

A circle of people

Growing with every breath

Spinning ever wider

Living in peace and harmony

A family

A community

Sharing good and bad

No more war, loneliness, anger or greed

A family of humanity

Starting from a whsiper

Growing steadily brighter and brighter

Louder and louder

Until

No darkness remains.