01 February 2008
Britain must end its 'addiction' to the idea that choice and diversity in public services inevitably lead to inequalities, new Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has warned.
Addressing the Public Management and Policy Association on January 28, Clegg, giving one of his first major speeches on public policy, said there was no evidence that devolution of power led to inequalities in services.
He acknowledged that it seemed 'counter-intuitive', but said evidence from other European countries with devolved systems showed that decentralisation led to higher and more consistent standards in public services.
'We have one of the most centralised health systems, which is also one of the most unequal,' Clegg said. 'We have got to get out of this cul-de-sac that our welfare state delivers greater equality.'
But the LibDem leader said that such an approach would not lead to an 'impotent government', however, as the centre would still ensure funding was allocated fairly and set minimum standards in core areas.
Clegg also vowed that a LibDem administration would introduce a 'pupil premium', whereby schools would receive a cash bonus for every disadvantaged child they accepted. 'That will make poorer pupils more attractive to successful schools,' he said.
Speaking to Public Finance after the lecture, Clegg said that such mechanisms would allow everyone equal access to services, and ensure that choice and diversity would not benefit only those most able to negotiate the system. It would also tackle Britain's lack of social mobility.
'The building blocks of Liberal Democrat policy will be to ensure there is a level playing field,' he said. 'Once those building blocks are in place you give everyone the greatest opportunities.'
Clegg also called for greater democratic accountability at local level, especially in relation to the health service. He derided strategic health authorities as 'increasingly meaningless quangos' and vowed to scrap them, instead making health trusts accountable to residents.
'We need to democratise the health service, either by giving more powers to local government or through elected health boards.'
He told PF: 'I'm quite open to the idea of using either councils or local elected boards, which would need to have local authority representatives on them anyway.'
PFfeb2008
