About the Inquiry
On 29 March, the Scottish Government published their updated National Outcomes as part of its broader look at the National Performance Framework. The Scottish Government is required to consult the Scottish Parliament on the proposed revisions to these Outcomes. What this means is that once the document with the revised draft Outcomes is published, the Parliament has 40 days to consider and give its views on the proposed revisions. The period from 31 March until 15 April doesn’t count as part of the 40 days (when the Parliament is in recess).
The Parliament agreed that the Local Government and Communities (LGC) Committee should be the lead committee. This means that the LGC Committee will consider those Outcomes that fall within its remit and will also collate the views of other committees on the Outcomes that fall within their remits. Following this the Committee will publish a report with its views and those of the other relevant committees.
There are three files embedded within the National Outcomes for Scotland document. These can be accessed via the links below:
What are National Outcomes?
The National Outcomes are the Scottish Government’s broad policy aims. They are part of the National Performance Framework (link) which sets out the Scottish Government’s overarching single purpose. The current National Outcomes include a set of National Indicators as well. National Indicators are high-level measures that show how the Scottish Government is performing against the Outcomes.
National Outcomes must be reviewed at least every five years. The current National Outcomes were set in 2007, with one further Outcome added in 2011.
The Scottish Government informed its views by seeking views in two phases – one gathering opinion from the general public, and the other from experts. A range of people were involved, including adults and children, and stakeholders, experts, Scottish Government officials and Ministers. The consultation asked people what kind of Scotland they wanted to live in, and how the Outcomes could be changed to reflect that.
What outcomes are the Local Government and Communities Committee considering?
There are 11 National Outcomes. The Local Government and Communities Committee considered the following three:
- We live in communities that are inclusive, empowered, resilient and safe
- We tackle poverty by sharing opportunities, wealth and power more equally
- We grow up loved, safe and respected, so that we realise our full potential
We wanted to know what you think of these Outcomes
As the timescale for completing this work was very short, we sought views by 11 April and proposed some questions below:
- What do you think about the changes to the National Outcomes?
- What do you think of any new Outcomes?
- What do you think about the Scottish Government’s consultation on these changes?
Timetable
The proposed timetable for the Local Government and Communities Committee to consider and provide its views was as follows:
- 29 March – National Outcomes published
- 11 April – Deadline for any views to be provided
- 18 April – The Committee meet to take evidence from the Scottish Government on the 3 outcomes listed above.
- Early May report consideration and then publication thereafter. This will be followed by a debate in the Chamber.
Evidence
Call for Views
The Committee launched a call for views on Wednesday 4 April 2018 from all interested parties as part of its scrutiny of the revised National Outcomes within its remit.
Organisations and individuals were invited to submit their comments to the Committee via email and Twitter setting out their views on the revised National Outcomes and the consultation on these.
Responses received via Twitter during the Committee’s call for views (135KB pdf)
Responses to the Committee's Call for Views
Correspondence
On 3 April the Convener wrote to the Conveners of the other relevant Committees requesting their views on the National Outcomes that fall within their remits (177KB pdf)
Report
The Committee's report was published on 15 May 2018:
The Scottish Government responded to the Committee's report on 11 June 2018: