26 January 2007
There should be no limits in future to the role that private and voluntary sector organisations can play in delivering public services, the prime minister has declared.
Tony Blair, speaking at the CBI public services summit in London on January 24, argued that the era of monopoly provision was over and ideology should not stop reforms.
In a break with previous government policy, he also rejected constraints being placed on the proportion of public services that the private sector can provide. That tactic has been used by Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt to placate the unions over private sector involvement in the NHS.
'I don't see any reason why, if a GP service isn't working properly, an independent sector treatment centre shouldn't bid to provide it,' Blair told business leaders. 'It depends on who provides the best service. You shouldn't accept an arbitrary limit [on private sector involvement].'
Mounting a staunch defence of his record, Blair said vested interests must not be allowed to derail the reform agenda, which had 'less to do with ideology and more to do with modernity'.
He also said his impending departure from office would not herald a shift in the direction of public service reform. 'I believe the concept of breaking down barriers between the public, the private and the voluntary sectors is here to stay,' Blair told delegates.
'The values and principles may remain the same but it's high time we realised that public services, like everything else, have to move with the times.'
To reinforce the point, he confirmed that the government would shortly publish proposals to open up employment services to the voluntary sector.
PFjan2007
