With the advent of a Scottish National Party administration, health policy in Scotland continues to diverge from that in England. The Scottish Government’s discussion document, “Better Health, Better Care” makes it clear that the direction of travel in health policy will continue on the route mapped out in “Delivering for Health” in 2005 under the previous administration. Innovations in place in England, such as practice-based commissioning and alternative provision, will not be introduced in Scotland for the foreseeable future. As the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon, told the Scottish Parliament on 24th October 2007: 

“The Government's view on the private sector is not in doubt—I have made it clear on many occasions. Health boards can continue, as they have done in the past, to use existing private sector capacity if that helps them at the margins to cut waiting times for patients. However, I differ from members of other parties in that I do not want taxpayers' money to be invested deliberately to build up private sector capacity that can compete with the health service. That is what is happening in England and what the previous Government said that it wanted to happen in Scotland, but it is not something that this Government will preside over.”

This means that health policy in Scotland will differ substantially from that in England. This will pose specific challenges to organisations seeking to engage with policy-makers in Edinburgh. Philip Atkinson Associates exists to help such people engage effectively.