How do we secure world-class public services?

We have cut crime by over a third, strengthened our borders, and transformed public services after decades of neglect. Now the challenge is to secure world-class services, with explicit rights for citizens. The fear of crime is still too high, and we must improve quality of life for each and every community. People lead ever more pressured, busy lives and need greater help than ever to balance caring, working and living.
 
We will go further in creating the strong society: a one-nation Britain. At the heart of a cohesive society are decent public services requiring sustained investment and serious reform.

After a decade of catch up and the renewal of public infrastructure, value for money with less waste and bureaucracy will continue to be our priority. We have already saved £26.5 billion, exceeding our efficiency targets by over 20 per cent, but we want to go further and faster: we are committed to saving an extra £35 billion by 2011.

In public services, we trust professionals to deliver through proper accountability. Our aim is to empower individual citizens, giving them greater choice and control in accessing their GP, and providing more information for parents to make the right choice for their children.

We have to give the public confidence that criminals will be punished. Crime has fallen by over a third but concern remains high, and there is particular anxiety about low-level anti-social behaviour. We will celebrate the achievements of young people not demonise them. Britain is not a fractured society.

We have one of the highest rates of volunteering in the world and we are increasingly comfortable and confident in our diversity.

Public services face new pressures, not only demand for higher standards but fiscal constraints, demography and the ageing society. Healthcare is too fundamental to be left to people’s wealth. We...

We recognise that the modern world offers freedoms and opportunities unheralded a decade ago. But with new freedoms come new threats and fears. We have looked again at how to...