Rob Wilson's Westminster Diary: February 3, 2011
Rob Wilson MP • Published 3 Feb 2011 09:00
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REFORM has taken centre stage this week in Parliament with the proposed changes to the health service debated on Monday and the new Education Act to be debated next Tuesday.
Some of these debates generate heat but not much light and I think it's probably fair to say that's what happened on Monday. However, we should not lose sight of just how important it is to make the changes. We all know there were far too many managers in the health service and not enough money going into the front line services.
We also know that decisions were and still are (to some extent) being taken for administrative convenience rather than on the basis of clinical outcomes.
I welcome the changes, which are evolutionary in nature, and finish the job started back in the late 1980s of giving power to GPs to make decisions on behalf of their patients.
I am delighted that Reading has a group of GPs leading the way as 'pathfinders' in the reform process. I am not concerned whether a service is provided by the public or the private sector, what is important is that the service is excellent and all patients have access to it!
I will be speaking in the education debate on Tuesday and am pleased to see schools in Reading have set the pace with the existing Government reforms, with new academy schools already under way. Now we move on to the next stage of reform that will really support teachers; because countries with great education systems tell us that nothing is more important than attracting great people into teaching.
Under the last Government thousands left the teaching profession because behaviour was out of control and the paperwork was overwhelming. That's why we are giving power to teachers, which will help restore discipline, cutting the form filling and box ticking which swallows up so much teaching time.
The focus is on raising standards which, in international league tables, have dropped alarmingly. Britain's education system used to be envied around the world as one of the best, now it is nowhere near the best.
In both health and education we are giving power back to professionals, focusing less on the process and more on the outcome.
I do understand that we are taking on a huge challenge in reforming two essential public services amid the economic wreckage left by the Labour Party. However, I do not believe we can stand back from either the pressures on the health service, which are pushing it to breaking point, or the falling standards in education.
In Reading, and across the country, I am convinced these reforms to our key public services will result in higher quality systems and better outcomes for children and patients.
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