To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to encourage and support local authorities to empower and enable people and communities to have a greater say over the delivery of local public services. (S6O-04880)

Through our joint commitment with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities to the democracy matters process, we are designing new community decision-making arrangements. That aims to increase participation and enhance the role of communities in local service delivery. We are also providing funding for the new city citizens assembly pilot in Mr Rowley’s Constituency, led by the Electoral Reform Society and Fife Council, to enable people to have a greater influence over the future of Scotland’s newest city. That is alongside support for local authorities to mainstream participation through the delivery of participatory budgeting and our recent review of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015.

I will correct myself—the pilot is in Ms Somerville’s constituency, and Mr Rowley is a regional member.

The Scottish National Party Government published the Christie report back in 2011. The report’s main recommendations focused on reforming public services in Scotland through empowerment, collaboration, prevention and performance-focused efficiency. It recommended empowering individuals and communities in service design, promoting integrated services through partnerships, prioritising preventative measures and holding services accountable for improving outcomes and value for money. Some 14 years later, in my opinion, very little of what the Christie report set out has been achieved. Indeed, I would argue that the centralisation of public services over that period is a complete contradiction to what the Christie report set out.

Do the Minister and the Government accept that they have failed to implement the Christie recommendations? Will they therefore look at how we can genuinely empower local authorities to take power out of the Parliament into local authorities, so that they can take that power into communities? That has failed.

I agree with the first part of the member’s question but not with the second part. The Christie principles are absolutely central to the work that the Government is taking forward. I am sure that the member has read in great detail the public service reform strategy that we published in June, which contains many examples of where those principles have been effectively applied across a whole range of policy areas, including prevention, empowerment, integration and more effective and efficient service delivery. We continue on that journey, and the public service reform strategy gives us clear direction, through its 18 workstreams, as to how we do that.

As I have already indicated, the Government is taking forward democracy matters work in collaboration with local authority partners at COSLA on how we take the empowerment and service design agenda down to the community level. To make that as local as possible is hugely important. I indicated that the work on the citizens assembly in Dunfermline, which is funded by the Scottish Government, is very much part of that work. However, I am always happy to engage with any member—

Thank you, Minister.

—who wants to contribute to taking the agenda forward.

Thank you, Minister. I am keen to squeeze in the last question.