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Smarter Government

My Lords, I hear what the noble Lord says, but I do not accept the criticism implied by the word "pious", if it is meant to be pejorative. I would sooner have a pious Government than a malign one. It is for the electorate to decide which is preferable. I emphasise that the Government have beneficial objectives with regard to the Statement. The noble Lord says that this cannot be taken seriously, given the Government’s record. However, it can. He may not appreciate the increase in the number of doctors and nurses as a result of the Government’s expenditure programmes, but the public do. He may not particularly appreciate how many more teachers we have in our schools, but the public do. He may not particularly appreciate how many more police we have, but the public do. The Government seek to effect proper economies with regard to government services against a background of more than a decade of substantially increasing the spend on government services. When his party was last in power, we were well down the league table of Europe and the advanced world with regard to the NHS; now we compete with anybody as regards that expenditure. The present situation requires us to increase our drive towards obtaining value for money, and that is what this Statement represents.