Serving Scotland: our five-year plan

A message from the Permanent Secretary

Serving Scotland is our privilege.

After more than two decades in the civil service of the Scottish Government, I am proud of our history and optimistic about our future.

We have many strengths, especially our people. In supporting ministers, we bring rich experience and expertise – strong foundations which we will build on.

But the world is changing, and so must we.

It’s our job to take practical action to improve people’s lives. Public service reform must continue to be driven from within the Scottish Government. We have a responsibility to lead by example and show what modern, efficient and effective government looks like.

Becoming a smaller, more focused organisation is part of that change. I recognise the scale and impact of the challenge, and I want to be direct about what it means.

Some areas of work will need to stop or be consolidated. We need to bring greater clarity to our priorities, invest more in our skills and technology, and reduce the bureaucracy that can slow things down day-to-day. Some roles will not be replaced as people leave, including some leadership roles. We will need to change how we work.

We need to stay curious, continually asking how we can improve and be open to learning from others. We must simplify processes, always use data and evidence to guide our decisions, and be willing to move with agility to where we are needed most.

Scotland’s size is a genuine advantage – small enough to allow us to collaborate with ease across government, with partners and communities. We can take a place-based approach and bring the right people together in ways that larger administrations cannot always replicate. That is an asset, and we must use it more deliberately.

How we make these changes matters as much as the changes themselves. I am committed to working in partnership with our trade union colleagues. Our values will guide everything we do. In particular, kindness and inclusion will shape how we lead this transition. That does not mean avoiding difficult decisions – it means making them with consideration for the people they affect.

Building and maintaining trust is key. We will be open to constructive challenge, and create space for honest conversations about what is and isn’t working, drawing on the strength of diverse perspectives and experiences across our organisation. I want everyone to feel able to speak candidly, and to know that doing so will be welcomed.

This plan is for all of us working in the Scottish Government. It is our route map for the next five years. It brings our key change initiatives into one place, setting out the commitments we’re making and the actions we’ll take, so we can build a better place to work and achieve more, together.

I’m confident that we will be a trusted, high performing civil service working to improve the lives of the people of Scotland.

Joe Griffin, Permanent Secretary