Proliferation of commissioners in Scotland ‘undermining Holyrood’, warns watchdog

Rosemary Agnew, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), said a “tangled web of complaints provisions” is “actively preventing and delaying improvements”.

There are currently seven commissioners directly responsible to the Scottish Parliament, including the Scottish Information Commissioner and Scottish Human Rights Commission. An eighth – a patient safety commissioner – was agreed by MSPs last year.

But a further six have been proposed, including a victims and witnesses commissioner, potentially bringing the total to 14 by the time of the next Holyrood election.

Ms Agnew said: “I have a significant concern that a proliferation of SPSBs [Scottish Parliamentary Supported Bodies] is undermining the ability of parliament to hold government to account.”

She made the comments in written evidence to Holyrood’s finance committee, which is holding an inquiry into the “commissioner landscape” in Scotland, including officeholders such as the SPSO.

Ms Agnew raised concerns about the financial burden created by new organisations, as well as the complex existing landscape in Scotland, which she said was difficult for people to navigate.

"For the user, the scrutiny landscape should be simple to access, they should find a clear pavement to an open door,” she said. “Instead, the current position is more like crossing a cobbled Edinburgh street to then find steep stairs to a basement with several badly lit and confusingly signed doorways. And then, having knocked on a door, being told that part of them can enter that door but the other part needs to go next door.”

Ms Agnew said she understood why creating a commissioner with a specific focus “may feel like a straightforward and positive solution", but said she is concerned “about the apparent lack of consideration about whether it is the optimum solution”.

She added: “I am also very concerned that those most in need of the services will simply fall though the gaps that an increasingly complex environment creates. The more boundaries are created, the more likely people and issues are to fall between organisations.”

She questioned whether current proposals “are a retrograde step”.

Ms Agnew said setting up new organisations is “expensive”, adding: “It can take some years before the impact and effectiveness of an organisation can be measured and understood, or before the real resources required for them to be effective are understood. Having taken on new functions and provided support to other parliamentary officer holders, I am aware this can amount to tens of thousands of pounds.”

Ms Agnew said there was “insufficient realism” about the capacity of the new patient safety commissioner to meet the broad range of functions set out in legislation.

Shona Robison, the deputy first minister, told the committee the Scottish Government “aims to ensure that decisions around the creation of new public bodies are made based on evidence and value for money against the backdrop of significant pressure on public spending”.

However, if MSPs decide to create a new commissioner, she said, “it will be for the Scottish Parliament to determine if it is being done in a way that is most effective”.