Public service reform

Public service reform is this Parliament's top issue.

Yet first indications are not encouraging.

The debate has already focused on old-fashioned demarcations of "private" and "public", with an emphasis on providers. Surely it should start from discussing the needs of users - you and me. It should set out the criteria required for a service to meet our needs.

Take the example of health. No system can guarantee cures. Yet if patients are seen quickly, by well-trained staff, with modern medical techniques, patients' needs can be addressed.

While this can happen in today's NHS, we all know too many cases when it does not.

Of course, extra cash and more staff will be essential. Even a cursory analysis of different countries' healthcare systems shows our NHS has fewer staff and lower levels of funding than many others.

Yet it's not just cash. We need services to respond to local needs, not central diktats. We need accessible services, where there is transparency about costs and accountability. We need value-for-money measured not just by what is put in, but by results. We need a level playing field between the public and private sectors - and the voluntary and not-for-profit sectors too!

These may sound uncontroversial principles, but all too often services do not meet them. Nor would some current reform ideas floating round Whitehall.

Whatever reforms are eventually proposed by Government, I see it as my job to test them rigorously against such principles. Better results in healthcare, education and fighting crime are the prizes we must win.