Reform 'won't come from the centre'

Thursday, February 05, 2009

Public sector reform will not come from what central government dictates but is best driven by a smaller, stronger centre of government that focuses on allowing frontline workers to deliver the services that people need, minister for the Cabinet Office Liam Byrne has said.

Byrne said a move away from central control will add to the £26.5bn of efficiency savings already achieved by the civil service, improve Whitehall accountability and give greater independence to frontline staff.

The plan is to close the gap between Whitehall policy and frontline delivery, give performance management in the Civil Service a "radical rethink" (courtesy of Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell and former civil servant Sir Michael Bichard), and make sure that improvements to public services are based on the very latest evidence and information.

Byrne said: "What people want is an economy where our performance matches our potential, a society of fair rules and fair chances. As an extraordinary country, whose sense of invention helped define this age, we have an extraordinary future ahead of us. That future is well within our grasp. But not unless government, the civil service, and our public services change with the world around us. "

He added: "Success comes not from accumulating, or hoarding, or concentrating power in the hands of politicians or civil servants – it comes from giving it away to people. We want a country of powerful people. And that is my guiding principle in reform of public services."

Claiming the government will not "walk away from Whitehall reform", Byrne said: "The centre needs to be an agent of change, not an agent of control. We don't need a big government to have a strong state, but we do need a strong state to have a richer economy and a fairer society. We need an active government putting people power at the centre of its vision for the future."