Carnegie UK has a longstanding interest in the National Outcomes and the National Performance Framework. We believe that they can be used as a key tool to put wellbeing at the centre of policy making in Scotland, and to improve the lives of current and future generations.
Given its importance, we were disappointed that there was so little resource allocated to include a wider range of voices in this Review. Our view is that significant revisions to the National Outcomes should only happen as a result of meaningful citizen engagement. Our response therefore focuses largely on how we could improve the implementation of the National Outcomes. We are calling for the NPF to be renamed so that it has greater resonance with citizens, and we want to see more action to ensure that the National Outcomes are embedded as a decision-making tool across government. Alongside this, we are supporting Oxfam Scotland’s campaign ‘A Scotland that cares’ to include new, dedicated National Outcome focused on care and carers in Scotland to end the invisibility of care in the National Outcomes.