20 December 2002
The chancellor mounted a staunch defence of Public Service Agreements, which are signed by each Whitehall ministry in return for Exchequer funds, when he appeared before the Treasury select committee on December 17.
Asked if the recent watering down of targets on health and transport showed that PSAs were misconceived, Brown replied 'absolutely not'.
He insisted the performance targets had provided a 'discipline for departments' and helped to give 'a focus for what requires to be done'.
The chancellor claimed the government had a good record in meeting the goals it had set itself.
'Eighty-seven per cent of targets in the initial [1998] Spending Review were met on time,' he told MPs. 'Ninety-three per cent were met subsequently.'
Brown used the wide-ranging session on last month's pre-Budget report to issue a warning to public sector workers on the need for restraint in pay claims.
He made clear that he would pursue a strategy of increases tied to reform when the pay review bodies, such as that for education, report their findings next month.
He said: 'To have to pay excessive wage rises in the public sector would be at the cost of jobs or other investment in the public services.'
Brown also rejected suggestions that the massive increase in government borrowing to £20bn was his fault. 'It's not an error. It's a response to what's happening in the world economy.'
PFdec2002
