crackdown on waste would save £650m – Daily Business

Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay has outlined plans to save taxpayers £650 million through a Trump-style crackdown on inefficiencies in the public sector.

Mr Findlay is proposing a Taxpayer Savings Act which will rein in what he considers wasteful public spending, and use the money saved to cut taxes.

He plans a new Scottish Agency of Value and Efficiency (SAVE) that would be run by business leaders, not politicians.

The measures echo the Trump-Musk campaign to save millions of dollars via the Department of Government Efficiency, known as Doge.

Mr Findlay’s provisions include reducing the number of quangos by a quarter, bringing in business people to identify where savings can be made, a tightening of public spending rules and slashing red tape in the NHS and other bodies.

“Putting a stop to wasteful spending is top of our agenda,” he will tell delegates at the party’s conference in Edinburgh.

“We need to urgently streamline bloated government. Improving services means treating people’s money with respect.

“Today I can announce that our party would introduce a Taxpayer Savings Act to get the books in order and deliver better value. This proposal would save £650 million by cutting red tape, getting a grip on spending, and harnessing business expertise. We would then use that money to bring down people’s taxes.

Mr Findlay adds: “By doing that, we would start to restore trust. We would shut down quangos that don’t deliver value. We’d tackle the SNP’s culture of cronyism through strict new rules on public appointments.

“No more jobs for the boys, and we would reduce the number of ministers and advisors.

“We would introduce a Scottish Agency of Value and Efficiency – run by business leaders. People in the real world who know how to get things done. They would be tasked with wielding a claymore on waste.

“We would introduce an Accountability and Transparency Index. This would shine a light on every organisation that receives public money, and would begin to dismantle the SNP’s toxic era of secrecy.”