Speaking during a visit to First Step Community Nursery in Hamilton, North Lanarkshire, Ms Jamieson said, 'Parents and their children have diverse needs, and local authorities and their partners have been flexible in meeting them. The importance of partnerships cannot be stressed too strongly. I encourage local authorities to continue working with the private and voluntary sectors in providing high-quality services.'
The Scottish Executive has consistently stressed the importance of partnership working, although the approach has been dogged by problems, with private and voluntary sector providers often complaining that partnerships are dominated by local authorities. Its guidance to partnerships on planning for 2001-2004, published in January 2001, said, 'There has been tension among members; difficulty in engaging members; doubt about whether partnerships could succeed, given the size of the task and the resources available; and doubt about whether the partnership model would survive.'
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