Investment and reform

This webpage contains 3 double-page extracts from the Labour party 2001 manifesto, highlighting particular references to pledges on public service reforms.

Pages 2-3: Tony Blair's introduction

Fulfilling Britain’s great potential:

This general election is in many ways even more important than the last. Since May 1997 we have laid the foundations of a Britain whose economy is stronger, where investment is now pouring into public services, where social division is being slowly healed and where influence abroad is being regained.

But these are only the foundations of larger change. Now is the chance to build the future properly, to make the second term the basis for a radical programme of British renewal: to keep a firm grip on inflation, with low interest rates and the public finances sound, and then build the dynamic and productive economy of the future; to keep investment coming into public services and then making the reforms so we use the money well; to refashion the welfare state on the basis of rights and responsibilities, with people helped to help themselves, not just given handouts; to ensure all families are safe in their communities by tackling crime and its causes; and to give Britain back its leadership role in the world. We need the second term to do all this. That is the choice: to make progress or to dismantle the foundations laid. And with the state of today’s Conservatives, the choice is stark.

This choice will decide whether more people will be able to realise their aspirations for themselves and their children – to be able to rely on a stable economy where hard work is rewarded by rising living standards, to receive world-class education and healthcare, to enjoy a dignified old age, to feel safe and secure in a strong community, and to be proud to be British. Or whether we will be held back by the traditional British malaise of restricting life’s great opportunities and blessings to a minority. There is much still to be done, but we have come a long way in four years. Britain stands more prosperous, more equal, more respected. Our country is on a new course. My passion is to continue the modernisation of Britain in favour of hard-working families, so that all our children, wherever they live, whatever their background, have an equal chance to benefit from the opportunities our country has to offer and to share in its wealth.

The challenge for Britain

I am honoured to be Prime Minister. And I have a confident belief in our country. We are not boastful. But we have real strengths. Great people. Strong values. A proud history. The British people achieved magnificent things in the 20th century. But for too long, our strengths have been undermined by weaknesses of elitism and snobbery, vested interests and social division, complacency bred by harking back to the past. We achieved spurts of economic growth, but inflation would then get out of control. Our welfare state was founded to offer security, but its progress was stalled. We reached out to Europe, then drew back to become semi-detached.

It is as if a glass ceiling has stopped us fulfilling our potential. In the 21st century, we have the opportunity to break through that glass ceiling, because our historic strengths match the demands of the modern world. We can use our openness and entrepreneurial flair to become a global centre in the knowledge economy. We can use our sense of fair play and mutual responsibility to be a

strong, dynamic, multiracial society held together by strong values. We can use our historic and geographical position to link Europe and America, and help the developing world. The key to tapping our strengths, to breaking through this glass ceiling, is contained in a simple but hard-to-achieve idea, set out at the heart of our party’s constitution: the determination to put power, wealth and opportunity in the hands of the many, not the few. I know as well as anyone that we have just begun; millions of hard-working families want, need and deserve more. That means more change in a second term, not less – to extend opportunity for all. We reject the quiet life. We must secure a mandate for change.

Ten goals for 2010

• Long-term economic stability

• Rising living standards for all

•Expanded higher education as we raise standards

in secondary schools

• A healthier nation with fast treatment, free at the

point of use

•Full employment in every region

• Opportunity for all children, security for all pensioners

• A modern criminal justice system

• Strong and accountable local government

• British ideas leading a reformed and enlarged Europe

• Global poverty and climate change tackle

Pages 6-7: Investment and reform: Summary

Public Services: Investment and reform Renewal of our public services is at the centre of new Labour’s manifesto. A single aim drives our policy programme: to liberate people’s potential, by spreading power, wealth and opportunity more widely, breaking down the barriers that hold people back. But this is only possible on the continued foundation of economic stability: mortgages as low as possible, low inflation and sound public finances. The manifesto is comprehensive. Here we set out some of the key measures for investment and reform that we believe give us a historic opportunity to modernise our schools, NHS, criminal justice system and welfare state.	Economic Stability: the foundation	Renewing Public Services: Education Reform	Renewing Public Services: NHS reform
	New Labour believes that a stable economy is the platform for rising living standards and opportunity for all Our ten-year goals are for long-term economic stability and faster productivity growth than our main competitors. We will now: -deliver economic stability with mortgages as low as possible, low inflation and sound public finances -reform further education, and help 750,000 adults achieve basic skills -expand the Children’s Tax Credit to offer up to £1,000 per year for parents of newborn children create a new Child Trust Fund for every child at birth -increase the minimum wage to £4.20 -not raise the basic or top rate of income tax and extend the 10p band -strengthen regional economies with venture capital funds and new powers for reformed Regional Development Agencies -develop the Small Business Service and cut red tape -give British people the final say in any referendum on the single currency	New Labour believes that schools need a step change in reform to make quality education open to all. We plan a radical improvement in secondary schools, building on our success in primary schools. Our aim is to develop fully the talents of each child. Our ten-year goal is 50 per cent of young adults entering higher education. We will now: -ensure every secondary school develops a distinctive mission including the expansion of specialist schools -diversify state schools with new City Academies and more church schools direct more money to headteachers, more freedom for successful schools -reform provision for 11- to 14-year-olds to ensure higher standards in English, maths, science and information technology -introduce new vocational options from 14 onwards, with expanded apprenticeship opportunities -ensure primary schools offer more chance to learn languages, music and sport, as well as higher standards in the basics -provide a good-quality nursery place for every three-year-old	New Labour believes that the NHS needs radical reform to fulfil its founding principle of quality treatment based on need, not ability to pay. The NHS needs radical reform if it is to be designed around the needs of patients. Investment is vital but not enough. Labour’s ten-year goal is a maximum waiting time of three months as we become a healthier nation with fast, high-quality treatment, free at the point of use. We will now: -decentralise power to give local Primary Care Trusts control of 75 per cent of NHS funding, and cut by two thirds the number of health authorities -reform the appointments system so that by the end of 2005 every hospital appointment is booked for the convenience of the patient -cut maximum waiting times by the end of 2005 for outpatient appointments from six months to three months and inpatients, from 18 to six months -work with the private sector to use spare capacity, where it makes sense, for NHS patients -create a new type of hospital – specially built surgical units, managed by the NHS or the private sector – to guarantee shorter waiting times -allow successful NHS hospitals to take over failing ones.
Renewing Public Services: substantial investment	Renewing Public Services: more frontline staff	Renewing Public Services: welfare reform	Renewing Public Services: criminal justice reform
New Labour believes that Britain needs investment in schools and hospitals, not reckless tax cuts Before 1997 we promised and kept to two tough years on spending to get the public finances in shape. Now, consistent with meeting our fiscal rules, we promise substantial rises for key public services. To help deliver our plans, our ten-year goal is the renewal of local government. We will now: -increase education spending by more than five per cent in real terms each year for the next three years as we increase the share of national income for education in the next Parliament -increase health spending by an average of six per cent in real terms each year for the next three years -increase spending on our police – an extra £1.6 billion a year by 2003/04 -increase spending on transport by 20 per cent for the next three years, -on our way to a £180 billion investment of public and private money for transport over the next ten years -use a £400 million reward fund for local government in return for signing up to clear targets to improve local services	New Labour believes in renewing a public service ethic by giving frontline staff new freedoms to respond to public needs For public services to be renewed, we will need more staff, properly rewarded. It is these frontline staff, operating in new ways, who will drive up standards in our key public services. We will decentralise power to make that possible. We will now deliver: -20,000 more nurses who will be given new enhanced roles and more power for matrons and ward sisters with control over budgets -10,000 more doctors, and access to a £500 million Performance Fund to spend on new patient services -10,000 more teachers. Invest in further rapid promotion and rewards for classroom excellence, more classroom assistants and help with housing costs in high-cost areas -6,000 extra police recruits, raising police numbers to their highest ever level, with strong local leadership and proper rewards for those on the frontline	New Labour believes that rights and responsibilities should be at the centre of reform of the welfare state– to lift children and pensioners out of poverty, and help parents balance work and family We will continue to reform the tax and benefit system to reward work, not irresponsibility. Our ten-year goals are to achieve full employment in every region, to halve child poverty and tackle pensioner poverty. We will now: -create an integrated Child Credit of cash support for children, built on the foundation of universal child benefit -establish a new Pension Credit for lower- and middle-income pensioners -establish a new ‘Employment First’ interview for people entering the welfare system, and integrate the Benefits Agency and Employment Service through major reform -extend and increase paid maternity leave to £100 each week for six months introduce paid paternity leave -expand childcare places to provide for 1.6 million children	New Labour believes that crime can only be cut by dealing with the causes of crime as well as being tough on criminals We plan the most comprehensive reform of the criminal justice system since the war – to catch, convict, punish and rehabilitate more of the 100,000 persistent offenders. Our ten-year goal is a modernised criminal justice system with the burglary rate halved. We will now: -overhaul sentencing so that persistent offending results in more severe punishment -reform custodial sentences so that every offender gets punishment and rehabilitation designed to minimise reoffending -reform rules of evidence to simplify trials and bring the guilty to justice -introduce specialist, late-sitting and review courts to reflect crime patterns and properly monitor offenders -establish a new Criminal Assets Recovery Agency to seize assets of crime barons and a register of dealers to tackle drugs -introduce a victims bill of rights providing legal rights to compensation, support and information

Our ten-year goals
50 per cent of young people entering higher education, as we raise standards in secondary schools.

Maximum waiting time of three months for any stage of treatment, as we become a healthier nation with fast, high-quality treatment free at the point of use.

Our next steps
Every secondary school with a distinct ethos, mission and centre of excellence
Recruit an extra 10,000 teachers
More power to frontline staff with budgets for ward sisters and consultants and 75 per cent of NHS spending controlled by Primary Care Trusts

More health service workers – 20,000 more nurses, and at least 10,000 more GPs and consultants Free access to national museums and galleries

The whole country depends on high-quality public services. We have a ten-year vision for Britain’s public services: record improvement to match record investment, so they deliver high standards to all the people, all the time, wherever they live. Since 1997 there has been investment with reform. Thanks to committed public servants, we have shown that rapid progress is possible and have begun to break the fatalism that says public services are always second class. Now is the time to move forward. Economic stability makes more investment possible. Labour will put education and healthcare first. We promise reform to match. We will decentralise power within a clear framework of national standards to increase the quality and diversity of public services and meet the challenge of rising expectations. In education, we offer step-change in secondary schools to match the vast improvements in primary schools already achieved. Every school will have a clear mission, with more teachers, new types of school, new opportunities for children and education tailored to fufil their potential. By 2010, we want a majority of Britain’s young people entering higher education.
In health, we will recruit 20,000 extra nurses and at least 10,000 extra doctors. Our ten-year goal is a healthier nation, with fast, high-quality treatment meeting rising expectations and demographic and technological challenges. Doctors and nurses will be in the driving seat of reform. The job of government is also about ensuring that the enjoyment, excitement and inspiration of arts and sport come alive for everyone. In all our public services, the key is to devolve and decentralise power to give freedom to frontline staff who perform well, and to change things where there are problems. Services need to be highly responsive to the demands of users. Where the quality is not improving quickly enough, alternative providers should be brought in. Where private-sector providers can support public endeavour, we should use them. A ‘spirit of enterprise’ should apply as much to public service as to business.

Pages 22-23: Health continued

patients will be able to see a GP within 48 hours. By the end of 2005 we will cut maximum waiting
times for outpatient appointments from six months to three months, and for inpatients from 18 months to six months by expanding staff numbers and reforming how care is delivered. Major conditions like cancer and heart disease will have priority, with all patients treated according to clinical urgency. We will give patients more choice. We have restored the right of family doctors to refer patients to the hospital that is right for them. Now we will redesign the system around the needs of patients. Same day tests and diagnosis will become the norm. By extending the use of NHS Direct and increasing the numbers of dentists, patients will get easier access to NHS dentistry wherever they live.
Specially built surgical units – managed by the NHS or the private sector – will guarantee shorter waiting times. We will use spare capacity in private-sector hospitals, treating NHS patients free of charge, where high standards and value for money are guaranteed. It would be wrong to push people into paying for their operations. That is why we reject the approach of the Conservatives, which would lead to this outcome. By the end of 2005 every hospital appointment will be booked for the convenience of the patient, making it easier for patients and their GP to choose the hospital and consultant that best suits their needs. From next year, if an operation is cancelled on the day of surgery for non-clinical reasons, the hospital will have to offer another binding date within 28 days, or fund the patient’s treatment at the time and hospital of the patient’s choice. By modernising all maternity units, increasing the number of midwives and giving women greater choice over childbirth, we will ensure that women receive the highest quality maternity care. There will be tough new standards for care of children, the elderly and people with conditions
like diabetes, kidney failure, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy.
We will further tackle the ‘lottery of care’ as we direct local health authorities and trusts to fund drugs and treatments recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). Genetic services will be extended in the NHS so that more patients enjoy the benefit of the latest advances in testing and treatment; but we will ban by law human cloning, and implement a moratorium on the use of genetic tests for insurance, following a recommendation of the Human Genetics Commission. We will continue to examine demographic and technological challenges as they affect the NHS.
Patients will have more say, as in the NHS Plan. We will give every citizen a personal smartcard containing key medical data giving access to their medical records. Older people, people with disabilities and their carers will be able to decide which services they want, with the choice of having cash given to them directly by local councils. Patients will be represented on trust boards and have more information on local services’ quality.

Power devolved
To achieve this vision there will be clear national standards but greater decentralisation to frontline services and to the staff who run them. Locally agreed personal medical services schemes will be extended. By 2004 all local healthcare will be organised by primary care trusts (PCTs) run by frontline doctors and nurses. Together with the new care trusts, combining health and social services, PCTs will control 75 per cent of NHS funding. With more power for PCTs we will cut the number of health authorities by two-thirds and devolve to the remainder the functions of NHS Regional Offices. We will use the savings of £100 million a year for investment in frontline services.
Hospitals and other local services will have greater control over their own affairs and access to a £500 million performance fund, while consistently failing NHS hospitals will be taken over by successful NHS hospitals. Appointments to trust boards will no longer be made by ministers but by an independent panel.

NHS staff
None of these ambitions will be possible without major investment in the skill, working conditions and working practices of all NHS staff. There will be extra pay too in high-cost areas, with pressure relieved through expanded staff numbers, reformed working practices and investment in training. Every NHS employer will offer more flexible working hours for staff and especially nurses. Childcare provision will be improved and we will offer targeted subsidies for childcare for NHS staff. The pay system will be reformed to make it fairer. As set out in the NHS Plan, there will be new contracts for GPs and hospital consultants, coupled to extra money. We will examine the case for a public-private partnership with a commercial mortgage lender to make home ownership more affordable for nurses and other staff. We will set up a University of the NHS to guarantee to staff at all levels opportunities for training and career development. Healthcare assistants, porters, cooks and cleaners will be offered an individual learning account worth £300 a year to develop their careers. We will examine the potential for sabbaticals to help GPs, consultant nurses and consultants keep their skills up to date. There will be new systems to learn from when things go wrong, a core education curriculum for all health professionals and reforms to modernise the way health professions are regulated. We will take action to protect NHS staff from violence and abuse, and reform the clinical negligence system. This is a vision worth fighting for. It will take time to achieve, but this is the most comprehensive plan ever put before the British people to improve the state of the nation’s health and our health service. It will deliver an NHS to be proud of.