Sean Worth: Spending restraint makes public service reform even more important

Sean Worth, a former Downing Street Special Advisor, is starting a new project for Policy Exchange. Follow Sean on Twitter

I have said today in an interview with the Guardian that we have to keep up the pace of public service reform. Not just to bring in the charities, businesses and technology that will at last make them more innovative and effective.  But because, given the spending restraint services face, and the continually rising demands on them, public services are too important to see wither. Reform is vital.

Iain Duncan Smith, Andrew Lansley, Michael Gove, and the Prime Minister himself, have made heroic reforming strides already. They, and the Blairite reformers before them, deserve great respect for the slog involved. But there are a raft of other service areas throughout central and local government that urgently need the same attention.

Paul Goodman rightly points out that the big issue at the next election will be the economy and that should be the Government’s focus. I agree – but believe the economy and public services will be inextricably linked.