The Scottish Government will become smaller, more agile and more joined-up under a new five-year plan to transform the workforce.
The 2026-2031 “change plan”, announced today, sets out how the Scottish Government will evolve and improve over the next five years, with the aim that civil servants spend “less time on process and more time on work that makes the biggest difference”.
In a foreword to the plan, Scottish Government permanent secretary Joe Griffin said: “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 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.”
As part of this change, Griffin said the civil service will “need to stay curious, continually asking how we can improve and be open to learning from others”.
He said Scotland's civil service must also take more advantage of its size – “we can take a place-based approach and bring the right people together in ways that larger administrations cannot always replicate” – and use this “more deliberately.”
Resetting expectations of senior leaders
The plan sets out a wide range of changes to how the Scottish Government works.
This includes a “reset” of expectations for senior leaders by asking them to put “greater focus on working across organisational boundaries, innovation, professional excellence and inclusive leadership” – to be implemented this year.
Leaders will also be asked to build a culture where “regular feedback and coaching is driving performance”, with strong performance recognised and rewarded and managers better equipped to tackle poor performance “head on, with clear next steps if things do not improve”. This work will take place between 2028 and 2030.
The plan also commits to “invest more in leadership and management development at every level” by 2028 and to establish a Corporate Change Portfolio Group in 2027 that will “bring stronger discipline and coordination to how we lead organisational improvement”. The group will “advise the executive team on which improvement activity should proceed, pause or be reshaped, improving how we lead and manage change”.
‘Right size and shape’
To “achieve the right size and shape for the organisation”, the document says, the Scottish Government civil service will explore plans including a voluntary exit scheme, which would be “developed with the engagement of trade unions, subject to ministerial approval, and communicated transparently to colleagues”.
It says the reforms will “provide additional opportunities to colleagues for development, progression, and early career recruitment”.
The document says the civil service will also develop a "clear, rehearsed guide for the Scottish Government which enables rapid mobilisation of resources to where they are needed most”.
Working better with ministers
The plan also pledges to implement more efficient ways of working with ministers this year.
“We will strengthen the standards that underpin the advice we provide, drawing on our professions’ expertise and strong use of evidence to ensure that submissions, cabinet papers and correspondence are consistently high quality and focused,” the paper says.
A new correspondence, parliamentary questions and Freedom of Information system, to be delivered next year, will support this goal.
Hybrid working
The Scottish Government will formally consult with unions this year to take stock of the implementation of its hybrid working policy, using data, and “propose potential improvements”.
“This will help to ensure hybrid working is happening consistently and credibly in practice,” the document says.
Starting this year, a new desk and facility-booking system will be rolled out to “better support” hybrid working. And in early 2027, the Scottish Government will publish a location policy that “balances business needs with flexibility and inclusion”.
By the end of 2027, there will be a “single support model for all estate-related queries and a standard kit offering to support effective hybrid working”.
The plan also says the Scottish Government will share its buildings with partners “where it makes sense to do so, ensuring our physical locations support strong local relationships as well as agile working”.
Diversity and inclusion
The plan also makes a commitment to improve diversity and inclusion by introducing anonymised sifting to reduce bias in hiring, and to investigate barriers facing staff from minority ethnic and lower socioeconomic backgrounds.
This work will take place in 2026-27 and will be followed by the publication of a refreshed Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan, which will use diversity data to “target the systems, processes and behaviours that get in the way, so that everyone can thrive”.
A ‘more fit-for-purpose’ estate
The plan notes that the Scottish Government’s estate reduction programme has closed 14 buildings since 2023. It says a plan of estate change projects up to 2032 will be published in early 2027 that will result in a “smaller and more fit-for-purpose estate”.
This will be accompanied by a Best Practice Design Guide, which will set the standards for all building refurbishments, “helping to ensure our spaces are accessible, inclusive and fit for modern working”. By 2027, a Climate Action Plan will be published, setting out reductions to estate emissions and improvements to energy efficiency by 2030.
'Freeing' technology
The plan sets out a series of technology reforms aimed at “freeing” officials to focus on the “thinking, craft and action” that only they can bring.
This includes making the capabilities of Microsoft's Copilot Premium and Power Platform available across the Scottish Government this year and provide learning and support to help civil servants use AI "responsibly and effectively".
Another change is to move the Scottish Government staff directory to a new Oracle Cloud solution next year, “giving colleagues a more reliable and better-integrated way to connect with each other”.
The Scottish Government will also offer shared corporate services and technology to smaller public bodies, including Oracle Cloud and audit functions, which are already provided as shared services for other parts of the public sector. Money saved will be invested into delivery of frontline services.
What else is in the plan?
The change plan also pledges to:
- Better equip line managers to identify and act on team wellbeing concerns, particularly during periods of change
- Publish a reasonable and workplace adjustments policy, giving staff clearer routes to support
- Introduce a new way for civil servants to propose and implement improvements to ways of working
Measuring progress
The document says the civil service “will know we’ve made progress when people spend less time on process and more time on work that makes the biggest difference – when standards are higher, outcomes are better and Scotland’s public sector is more joined up and responsive”.
This will be measured by a combination of internal data, external accountability, benchmarking performance over time and learning from others. The plan will also evolve, with annual reviews and “transparency about what is working, what is not, and when we need to change course”.