Nick Herbert sets out the Conservative Party's commitment to reform

Nick Herbert gave a clarion call for public sector reform yesterday in a speech to Reform (pdf here).  The following points seemed to me to lay down important markers:

> “Real reform is intrinsically modern and post-bureaucratic.”  This suggests that public sector reform is integral to David Cameron’s Conservative Party.

> Successful reform has four principles: “supply side liberalisation and choice”; “meaningful information provided independently of government”; “clear lines of accountability”; “transfer public spending from subsidising failure to incentivising success”.  This is the real deal for public sector reform.

> As demonstrated in Reform’s April paper Shifting the unequal state, “reform is needed to drive social mobility”.

The Party has so far made brave commitments to reform on education, welfare, policing and prisons (the last two led by Nick Herbert himself).

One big question remains over health.  Nick Herbert rightly criticised the Government’s lack of progress on health reform.  Yet three weeks ago David Cameron gave an ultra-cautious speech, in which he claimed amongst other things that the Government had been “blinded by the private sector”.  In fact Nick Herbert’s principles of reform apply just as much to the NHS, and tackling the £100 NHS budget is essential if the Party wants to deliver “taxpayer value” and greater fairness.  Andrew Lansley’s NHS Independence Bill – with its commitment to “public value” – could be used to drive forward a reform programme.

Comments

[David Belchamber]

A new mission statement would help, so that everyone working in public services was made aware of the simple fact that they were engaged in providing a service for the public.

Under Blair, targets were so often "the be all and end all here".

Under "Accountability", it is to be hoped that "simplification" would have a place.

Perhaps the aphorism "Problems are solutions in disguise" might help as a modus operandi.

[Tony Makara]

The very concept of public service should be wrapped in the values of duty. Those involved in public service must show a level of responsibility than goes beyond simply being engaged in work. It is shocking that firemen have been able to strike and that there are even calls for our police to be given the right to strike. Whatever happened to a sense of duty and a pride in carrying out vital and essential public services? Employment in such services should be conditioned by a commitment to duty and an agreement not to strike.

[David Sergeant]

"Whatever happened to a sense of duty and a pride in carrying out vital and essential public services?"

Governments wrecked it. They figured they could pay public workers less because their "sense of duty" would make them less likely to be troublesome. Brown's at it now trying to use low public pay settlements to keep his borrowing amd inflation down.

[geoff]

Brilliant. Cameron has turned the party completely against reform in the NHS and put himself firmly on the side of entrenched and reactionary GPs.

-Ending weekend and evening opening for GPs
-Opposing reforms in primary care
-Opposing the involvement of the private sector (the CBI has been totally scornful)
-Setting up a new national quango to run the NHS (possibly the most un conservative policy I have ever heard)
-Lansley is playing politics with closures based on strong clinical evidence (he opposed manchester maternity changes which local clinicians say will save 30 babies lives every year)
-Opposing new health check-ups as a gimmick

And then Nick Herbert has the claim to pretend the conservatives are the party of reform?

I'm afraid Cameron is well to the left of Brown on public service reform in the NHS - if you dont belive me name one bold NHS reform policy which hasnt come from labour. I can give you a long list of those which have:

1) Patient Choice
2) Individual budgets
3) Foundation hospitals
4) Polyclinics
5) Payment by results
6) Expansion in private companies