Finance and Public Administration Committee
National Performance Framework
Letter from the Convener to the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for COVID Recovery of 9 February 2022
Dear Deputy First Minister
Thank you for confirming in your letter of 6 October that, while the next review of the outcomes in the National Performance Framework (NPF) is due in 2023, as required under Part 1 of Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, external engagement on the review will begin later this year. As you are aware, the 2015 Act specifies a 40-day period for consultation with the Scottish Parliament which committees, during the 2018 review, commented had limited their ability to undertake in-depth scrutiny. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance explained at the time that, while this formal consultation period of 40 days is set out in the legislation, the Scottish Government would, ahead of the next review, consider arrangements for consulting Parliament.
As you are aware, the NPF falls within the Finance and Public Administration Committee’s remit and we therefore expect to be lead committee for scrutiny of the report laid before Parliament for consultation. Other committees will of course also be involved in examining the outcomes relating to their portfolios.
The Committee would therefore welcome an indication of your current thinking on extending the consultation period to allow full and proper scrutiny of the outcomes in 2023, and looks forward to discussing this with you in early course.