Keir Starmer to outline reforms of ‘overcautious, flabby state’ in civil service speech – UK politics live
PM will give a speech shortly, followed by a Q&A with the mediaThere will be two Commons statements today at about 11.30am, after business questions. First Wes Streeting, the health secretary, will give an update on NHS England, where about half the HQ workforce is being cut to avoid duplication with the work done by the Department of Health and Social Security. And then Stephanie Peacock, a culture minister, is making a statement about the plans to celebrate the 80th anniversaries of Victory in Europe day and Victory over Japan day.Good morning. All prime ministers, sooner or later, get frustrated when they realise that the central government machine isn’t as effective as they would like. They arrive thinking that if they tell their officials to do something, it will happen, and they find out that it’s not that simple. When talking about this, they normally combine their criticism of the system with comments about how the individual civil servants with whom they work personally are excellent.We need to go further and faster on security and renewal. In such uncertain times, people want a state that will take care of the big questions, not a bigger state that asks more from them. We need to be operating at maximum efficiency and strength. I believe in the power of the state. I’m not interested in ideological arguments about whether it should be bigger or smaller. I simply want it to work.I saw the state at its best in our response to the riots last summer. It was dynamic, strong and urgent. But for the most part, that’s not the state that most people will recognise.I heard from a family business owner in Wales that builds homes for first-time buyers. During the consultation delays and the lengthy planning application, the cost of resources went up. The regulations held him back for so long that he lost the site. Business unable to grow because of red tape. Families unable to buy because an overcautious flabby state got in the way. Continue reading...
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PM will give a speech shortly, followed by a Q&A with the media
There will be two Commons statements today at about 11.30am, after business questions. First Wes Streeting, the health secretary, will give an update on NHS England, where about half the HQ workforce is being cut to avoid duplication with the work done by the Department of Health and Social Security. And then Stephanie Peacock, a culture minister, is making a statement about the plans to celebrate the 80th anniversaries of Victory in Europe day and Victory over Japan day.
Good morning. All prime ministers, sooner or later, get frustrated when they realise that the central government machine isn’t as effective as they would like. They arrive thinking that if they tell their officials to do something, it will happen, and they find out that it’s not that simple. When talking about this, they normally combine their criticism of the system with comments about how the individual civil servants with whom they work personally are excellent.
We need to go further and faster on security and renewal. In such uncertain times, people want a state that will take care of the big questions, not a bigger state that asks more from them. We need to be operating at maximum efficiency and strength. I believe in the power of the state. I’m not interested in ideological arguments about whether it should be bigger or smaller. I simply want it to work.
I saw the state at its best in our response to the riots last summer. It was dynamic, strong and urgent. But for the most part, that’s not the state that most people will recognise.
I heard from a family business owner in Wales that builds homes for first-time buyers. During the consultation delays and the lengthy planning application, the cost of resources went up. The regulations held him back for so long that he lost the site. Business unable to grow because of red tape. Families unable to buy because an overcautious flabby state got in the way. Continue reading...
