Scotland's public services provide critical support to every age group, community and area of activity. They are essential to wellbeing, the economy, public safety and quality of life. However a tsunami of challenges to our services already exist, with many more on the horizon. The labour market is constricted, creating acute staffing shortages. COVID has left services struggling to catch up and keep up with demand. War has driven economic instability and UK government fiscal uncertainty suggests serious funding issues for public services. The context seems to be that change is now permanent. So what can those leading and delivering our critical public services do to cope with the challenges of now and prepare for those which are coming? How can they harness smart service design approaches and core elements of delivery to provide services which remain resilient, reliable and relevant? What opportunities exist to work differently and better in trying to do more with less?
COVID related pressure on the delivery and emergency reshaping of public services has left a headache of pent-up demand together with services in need of overhauling and re-purposing. War in Ukraine created as much uncertainty for public service planning and delivery as for the wider economy – energy and broader cost of living prices fueling demands for higher wages while in the midst of a contracting labour market. The UK government's 'mini-budget' then rocked the UK and Scottish fiscal position as the need to meet spiralling borrowing costs and look for public spending savings raised the question of public sector budget cuts and perhaps a return to austerity.
During 2022 the Scottish Government had already identified £500 million in savings to meet the consequences of the cost of living crisis. Those early savings took place against a backdrop of an inflation rate which had jumped from 4% in December 2021 to over 10% by September 2022. It remains stubbornly high at 8.7% currently. That inflation alone reduced the value of the Scottish Government budget by £1.7 billion in real terms and the need for further savings continues. The financial reality for Scotland's public sector bodies therefore seems to carry a very pressing requirement for innovation and imagination to be applied to prepare for what lies ahead.
Where does this leave those trying to deliver services and plan for the future? What measures can be taken and what innovation explored to try to support the objective of delivering more with less?
This conference examines the challenges – and perhaps opportunities – Scotland's public services and bodies face in meeting current and future demands in an environment where change seems permanent. Against this backdrop the conference will focus on three broad themes:
Benefits of attending
Who should attend
Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance
Scottish Government
Financial Economist, Author and Blogger
Associate Director – Place, Housing & Economic Investment
Scottish Futures Trust
Business Development Manager, Scottish Public Sector
Leidos
Professor of Public Policy
University of Edinburgh
Director
Actus Consultants
Commercial Director
Commercial Services Group
Tom Arthur MSP
Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance
Scottish Government
Born in Paisley in 1985, Tom Arthur was first elected to the Scottish Parliament for the seat of Renfrewshire South at the 2016 election, holding the seat in 2021. He joined the Scottish Government as Minister for Public Finance, Planning and Community Wealth in May 2021.
Mr Arthur was raised in Barrhead, East Renfrewshire, where he was educated at Cross Arthurlie Primary and Barrhead High School. He graduated with a Bachelor of Music then later Master of Music from the University of Glasgow. Before entering politics, he worked as a company director, freelance piano teacher and keyboardist.
Frances Coppola
Financial Economist, Author and Blogger
Frances spent 17 years working for banks, where much of her work was concerned with settlement, accounting and risk management systems. She left banking in 2002 to concentrate on her singing career, but after the financial crisis returned to write about the banks that had so nearly blown up the world. She now writes on finance and economics for a wide range of media and industry publications including the Financial Times, American Express, the Independent, Open Democracy, CapX and CoinDesk. Frances is also a commentator for the BBC and Jazz FM, and is in demand as a speaker at economics and finance conferences. Her blog Coppola Comment is widely read in the finance & economics community.
Frances’s book “The Case for People’s QE” was published by Polity Books in June 2019. It was Bloomberg’s Book of the Month in September 2019 and was listed on Martin Wolf’s summer reading list at the Financial Times. The Korean edition was released in February 2020.
In addition to her writing and speaking commitments, Frances continues to sing and teach professionally, pandemics permitting. She is an Associate of the Royal College of Music and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.
Diarmaid Lawlor
Associate Director – Place, Housing & Economic Investment
Scottish Futures Trust
Diarmaid is the Associate Director for Place, Housing & Economic Investment at the Scottish Futures Trust.
He was previously Head of Urbanism with Architecture and Design Scotland. An urbanist, with a multi disciplinary background, he has worked on projects involving the shaping and implementation of change for clients in Ireland, the UK and Europe, for the public, private and tertiary sectors. He has almost 20 years' experience of helping clients make well informed decisions about complex, connected urban policy and investment challenges. He is an educator, communicator and collaborator who writes and speaks on creative approaches to making better places.
Jamie MacLaren
Business Development Manager, Scottish Public Sector
Leidos
Jamie brings a wealth of experience from over two decades in technology delivery, technology leadership, and innovative digital solutions.
A significant portion of his career has been dedicated to supporting governments in their digital transformation journeys, on both UK and international platforms.
Currently steering business development in Scotland for Leidos, Jamie plays a pivotal role in advancing technological solutions tailored for the Scottish Public Sector. His extensive career has seen him at the nexus of both prominent global IT entities and a dynamic Scottish scale-up, offering a depth of perspective based on extensive experience in the digital realm.
In a notable stint with a leading IT consultancy, Jamie was instrumental in driving digital transformation programmes for the Scottish Government. His expertise was crucial in overseeing application development projects and in architecting transformative service strategies.
Earlier in his journey, Jamie championed several government digital initiatives, from pioneering elections solutions to laying down foundational ICT architecture frameworks.
As he engages with government and industry peers, Jamie consistently brings a synthesis of deep experience and forward-thinking insights, contributing richly to discussions on digital transformation in Scotland and beyond.
James Mitchell (Professor)
Professor of Public Policy
University of Edinburgh
Completed undergraduate degree at Aberdeen University and doctoral thesis at Nuffield College, Oxford University. Holds the Chair in Public Policy having previously held Chair in Public Policy in the University of Sheffield (1998-2000) and Chair in Politics in the University of Strathclyde (2000-2013). Joined the School in April 2013. Interests primarily in territorial politics, public policy and government, political behaviour:
Currently working on publications drawn from studies of Scottish independence referendum, Scottish elections, surge in SNP and Green Party membership and public service reform with focus on prevention in public policy and reform of local governance.
Laura Van Zyl
Director
Actus Consultants
Laura is Director of Actus Consultants.
Laura previously led Nuwe Consulting as its Managing Director. The purpose of Nuwe is to support the public sector in reducing reliance on outsourced solutions, becoming agile organisations and ultimately releasing cost efficiencies that help to ensure a higher quality of front-line service delivery in all services and for all communities.
Laura is a leader and innovator in the recruitment field with a wealth of experience during her 30 year career in the public and private sectors. This has spanned the NHS, utilities and transport and in both small and large businesses, but with a specific focus on recruitment in the public sector for the last 15 years.
Her early career was spent in generalist recruitment, managing branch operations and business development for market leading companies. She has extensive experience in Neutral Vend, Managed Services and Staff Bank/Talent Pool provision. She has implemented and managed innovative, cost-efficient workforce solutions from start-up through to operational delivery. This includes leading through the initial dialogue process, relationship development in the MV/ MSP and in Staff Bank/Talent Pool workforce solutions arena.
Laura was educated in Scotland and lives in Fife with her family where she supports community and rural projects. During lockdown she returned to her running and cycling roots, finding a passion for Duathlon and with the aim of representing Scotland at the Duathlon AG World Championships in 2024!
Steve Wilson
Commercial Director
Commercial Services Group
Steve is the Commercial Director as Commercial Services Group (CSG). Wholly owned by Kent County Council, CSG is one of the largest local authority trading companies in the UK.
Steve is passionate about delivering savings and enhanced delivery models for Local Government, through several operating models, such as insourcing, public-to-public joint venture partnerships and development programmes.
Prior to joining CSG, Steve spent 20 years working for global staffing and development organisations.
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