Professor Jim Gallagher’s report on “Fixing Broken Government” for Our Scottish Future paints a bleak picture of how devolution has turned into a permanent battleground around the constitution with every action reduced to a tactic rather than an end in itself. The evidence around us confirms that this comes at a cost – most recently expressed in today’s Audit Scotland report on the NHS in Scotland which “has not improved in line with commitments made by the Scottish Government, in spite of having more staff and more money”. A lot of money, courtesy of a Labour government.

Instead, says Audit Scotland, “there is still a persistent implementation gap between policy ambitions dating back over a decade and delivery on the ground”. In other words, announcements have rarely been translated into outcomes. While the NHS may be struggling, the Scottish Government are world leaders in announcements.

Audit Scotland notes that they have produced an “operational improvement plan” for the NHS but adds: “The published improvement plan lacks clear actions, timeframes and accountability, which will make reporting its progress difficult. And some of the ambitions within the documents, such as moving more care into communities, are longstanding and have yet to be delivered”.

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So more of the same and the key phrase is “make reporting its progress difficult”. That is the precise intention, not just for the eyes of auditors but also the electorate. Are we to settle for another set of announcements and commitments,........

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