Services Policy

Our public services are paid for and valued by us all. The faster our economy grows by having lower, simpler taxes, the more money there is to invest in public services. With reform, they can work better, faster, and more efficiently. There is far too much waste and not enough ambition.

The vast and growing mountain of daft, unproductive regulations that hinder small businesses and restrict growth are all part of the same problem in the public sector — lacking in common sense. They go hand in hand with the wasteful spending.

 

OUR PUBLIC SERVICES: HEALTH

The NHS is possibly the most loved healthcare system in the world. Being free at the point of delivery is at its core and must always continue.

The frontline care is normally amazing, dedicated, and always appreciated. But we have to be honest that in the back office, it is neither the most efficient nor the best managed system in the world.

Let’s be ambitious: we should aim for zero waiting lists. This is achievable with reform. Many other countries don’t have waiting lists, why should we put up with them? We have been brainwashed that they are the norm; they should not be, and we can achieve zero waiting lists. We must put the patient in charge by having a voucher scheme so they can be seen and treated promptly.

Healthcare will always, of course, remain free at the point of delivery.

• If you cannot be seen by a GP in 3 days, you get a voucher to go private elsewhere.
• If you cannot be seen by a consultant in 3 weeks, you get a voucher to go private elsewhere.
• If you cannot have an operation in 9 weeks from Day 1, you get a voucher to go private elsewhere.

This should mean zero waiting lists in around 24 months as private capacity increases rapidly. Retired medics will come back to work part-time in less bureaucratic healthcare settings.

Overall efficiency will improve dramatically. Surveys show that patients don’t mind who treats their condition, they just want to be treated quickly! Citizens in many countries expect and demand to see a doctor within 1 day.

So should we. This is why reform is essential.

OUR PUBLIC SERVICES: EDUCATION

On Education, let’s invest more wisely in young people: university students are being ripped off with high fees often for just online learning. Many degree courses could be done in 2 years not 3 years, which would save students many thousands of pounds.

• We would scrap interest rates on student loans and extend the capital repayment period, which will improve the debt recovery rate.
• We would introduce a new workable apprenticeship scheme. We have to be honest that many young people would be better off learning whilst in work, rather than accruing debt at university.
• Our schools and pupils need better technology to give them the best chances as we help prepare them for life. Covid has changed so much. Our children learn best in school and never again must we shut them, forcing children to learn from home for weeks on end.
• Schools must focus on the basics of teaching every child to read and write.
• Teachers must be free to teach pupils how to think, not what to think, without fear of the woke police or religious persecution.
• We must keep divisive woke ideologies such as Critical Race Theory (CRT) and gender ideology out of the classroom. Sex education should also always be age-appropriate.

OUR PUBLIC SERVICES: POLICING

We must adopt a zero tolerance approach to crime and antisocial behaviour. This starts at the ground level. Common sense dictates more police on the streets will help prevent crime and help catch criminals.

• Increase police numbers in the community, with officers on the beat, engaging with the local people. Ensure there is more visible policing with a focus on combating violent crime, robbery and burglary rather than enforcing restrictions on free speech or policing tweets.
• Target the menace of County Lines drug dealers, gangs and the growth of knife crime.
• Our police need much better technology to help them when they are on the streets. Some of what they currently use is archaic. This can substantially reduce bureaucracy and paperwork.
• Reform our courts and justice system to work faster and smarter

OUR PUBLIC SERVICES: DEFENSE

The United Kingdom has a long tradition of some of the finest, best trained and bravest Armed Forces in the world. We must ensure this continues in the face of ever changing threats, as shown by the war in Ukraine, the energy war and cyber warfare to name but a few.

It is vital that our Armed Forces have the people, training and best equipment to achieve this. Reform is needed to ensure more efficient joined up thinking and decision making, especially with regard to procurement of equipment; this is an area where the Ministry of Defence’s track record has sometimes let down Armed Forces personnel.

Reform is needed to our military covenant with our service personnel. A fully funded, comprehensive Office for Veteran Affairs is essential. Let’s properly protect our troops and veterans from unwarranted, never-ending legal claims. Let’s invest in properly equipping and housing our armed forces. Let’s invest in training our brave people for new jobs when they leave the services. Let’s provide the support they deserve.

OUR PUBLIC SERVICES: INSTITUTIONS

Reform the BBC: Bloated, wasteful and obligatory. The licence fee needs abolishing. People should be free to choose.

Reform the unelected, crony-filled House of Lords: Recent abuse has been offensive — a former Prime Minister ennobling his brother, mates and personal donors by making them peers is indefensible. A properly representative second House is needed.

Reform the Civil Service: Better leadership, more accountability, and greater welcome of successful people from the private sector to come in and serve the nation.

Reform the voting system: To make it more representative. Smaller parties mean more choice, new ideas, and better debate. Proportional representation is essential.

Reform the postal voting system: We must combat fraud and abuse to ensure trust in our democracy. We have seen real problems first-hand in recent elections and this problem is far bigger than many realise.

OUR PUBLIC SERVICES: GOVERNMENT SPENDING

Every day we see examples of wasteful, bad or unnecessary spending of our money by councils, public services or the Government.

• Tens of billions of pounds of our money is wasted every year. This also acts as a brake on our growth rate.
• Reform UK knows that with better leadership, better buying, better decisions, this waste of our money can be cut right back, without affecting front line services.
• This needs real reform of the civil service — with more accountability — for quality performance. It needs more successful private sector people coming into the civil service to use their skills to help get better value for the Government. Let’s make it part of our moral duty to society — to give something back. 
• One of the worst areas of wasteful government spending is ineffective foreign aid. Our civil servants struggle to give away the billions of pounds each year, so they end up giving money to the EU and other global bodies to help spend it. We would reduce the foreign aid budget by 50%, down to a still generous 0.35% of GDP.

 

Photo by Marcin Nowak on Unsplash