Public services require active local engagement if they are to succeed in an age of rising expectations, Labour leader Ed Miliband has said.
In his Hugo Young speech last night, Miliband declared Labour was determined to ‘drive power down’ and devolve responsibilities to those who use public services.
The leader of the opposition said Labour would commit to a radical overhaul of services in its next manifesto to ensure communities would be in a position to drive local improvements.
‘Everyone - not just those at the top - should have the chance to shape their own lives,’ Miliband said. ‘I meet as many people frustrated by the unresponsive state as the untamed market: the housing case not dealt with, the special educational needs situation unresolved, the problems on the estate unaddressed.
‘The causes of the frustrations are often the same in the private and public sector: unaccountable power with the individual left powerless to act against it.
‘The challenges facing public services are just too complex to deliver in an old-fashioned, top down way without the active engagement of the patient, the pupil or the parent.
‘Clearly the next Labour government will face massive fiscal challenges, including having to cut spending,’ Miliband said. ‘That is why it is all the more necessary to get every pound of value out of services and show we can do more with less, including by doing things in a new way.’
‘The next Labour manifesto will commit to a radical reshaping of services so that local communities can come together and make the decisions that matter to them. Driving innovation by rethinking services on the basis of the places they serve not the silos people work in.
‘In all of these public services, we are determined to drive power down. This devolution of power is the right thing to do for the users of public service and is the right way to show that we can do more with less.’
