Get it sorted!

August 2006

The Home Secretary recently admitted that the Home Office wasn’t “fit for purpose”. Increasingly I think that could be applied to the whole of this Government. Look at the CSA mess, the Tax Credits fiasco or patients denied life-saving drugs on the NHS. And what are ministers doing? Increasingly it seems playing croquet and knocking back fine wine.

The Lib Dems have revealed that the Government’s “Hospitality Wine Cellar” is home to 35,000 bottles at an average cost of £18. Some Government entertaining is of course needed – but couldn’t they have slightly less lavish tastes?

You’d think that ministers might be able to take a break from knocking back the wine to allow Parliament to be recalled and be questioned by MPs over the Middle East crisis and security threat – but so far apparently not! And the practice of the Deputy Prime Minister to command a magnificent salary without any ministerial responsibility seems to be spreading. I wrote recently to the minister responsible for the NHS in the South East about the possible closure of an A&E department in Chichester and the knock-on effect for Hampshire. You might think she would take some, even a small bit of responsibility for the situation – but no she doesn’t. Or when I write to another health minister about concern over Alzheimer’s drugs not being available for mild or severe sufferers despite the concern of eminent experts, all the minister can manage is a bland reply.

And there are urgent reforms needed. Decent pensions now – not in ten or twenty years time. Reform of the massively unfair council tax. Better frontline NHS services and the cancer and Alzheimer’s treatments people need – not the fiasco that the national NHS computer system is turning into. And the scrapping of tax breaks for the very rich and tax cuts for hard-working ordinary people. The Lib Dem plans would for example save a nurse and a police officer couple £1300.

Mr Blair, you need to tell your ministers to start taking responsibility for sorting out their departments. Then, even I won’t begrudge them a small drink for a day’s work well done!