World News Today: NHS reform cannot be put off

Mr Cameron will say he wants public service modernisation to be a "legacy" of his government

Prime Minister David Cameron will set out his determination to modernise Britain's public services during 2011, in a key speech later.

Mr Cameron will say he wants reform to be a legacy of his government, despite planned spending cuts of £81bn.

He will tell an audience in London that it is a "personal and political" priority for him to improve services.

However, his speech comes as NHS reform plans for England face increasing criticism from medical groups.

Ministers will publish a health bill this week that will pave the way for GP consortiums to take over management of the NHS from primary care trusts.

But the Royal College of GPs and the British Medical Association say the upheaval is unnecessary as the same results could have been achieved by a small change in the current structure.

At the same time, the heads of six health unions, including the BMA, have warned in the Times of their "extreme concerns" about greater commercial competition between the NHS and private companies.

However, in his speech, Mr Cameron will praise news that 140 GP groups have come forward to take on the new commissioning powers ahead of their introduction across England in 2013.

The prime minister will dismiss suggestions that public spending cuts will mean a deterioration in services, but he will say that urgency is a must, arguing Britain can be one of the "great success stories of the new decade".

Mr Cameron will say that even after the cuts are complete, public spending will still take up 41% of national income - the same level as in 2006.

And he will say that at £5,000 per pupil, spending on education will be the same as in Germany and more than in France; London will have as many police officers as New York; and health spending will match the European average.

"It's just not true to say that the spending taps are being turned off," Mr Cameron will argue.

He will also try to shake off claims by Labour that his reform agenda is driven by the wish to save money and an ideological desire to reduce the size of the state.

"Personal because I've experienced first-hand how dedicated, how professional, how compassionate our best public servants are.

"The doctors who cared for my eldest son, the maternity nurses who welcomed my youngest daughter into the world, the teachers who are currently inspiring my children, all of them have touched my life, and the life of my family, in an extraordinary way and I want to do right by them.

He will say that the coalition government has a better chance of implementing successful reform because it has "tried really hard to learn the lessons of the past" and will avoid repeating the mistakes of previous administrations.

"These reforms aren't about theory or ideology - they are about people's lives. Your lives, the lives of the people you and I care most about - our children, our families and our friends. We should not put this off any longer."

Meanwhile, changes to parental leave to give both mothers and fathers more flexibility are going to be considered, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is to announce later in a separate speech.

Describing the current system as "Edwardian", Mr Clegg will say the coalition will introduce in April measures drawn up by the Labour government to allow fathers to take up any remaining unpaid maternity leave if mothers go back to work early, up to a maximum of six months.

This article is from the BBC News website. � British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.

World News Today

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

NHS reform cannot be put off - PM

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