1O DOWNING STREET

LONDON SW1A 2AA

A message from the Prime Minister

MODERNISING GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER

On 30 March, we launched a White Paper on Modernising Government. It is central to our priorities because better government means better service to the public. And it is a paper which is about all of you, the public servants who work for the public and the country - whether in central or local government, the new devolved administrations, the health service, the teaching profession, the police and fire services, the Armed Forces and all other parts of the public service.

This is a Government that values public service. We value the contribution you make every day in your work to provide the services people and businesses need. The things that motivate you to be public servants are the same as those that motivated me to enter politics: to make a difference, to make things better.

We prepared the White Paper after discussion with many people both inside and outside the public service. It contains three main messages:

• first, at its best, public service in this country is amongst the finest in the world. The challenge is how we can bring everything we do up to those standards. We should reward success, and not tolerate mediocrity;
   
• second, when we provide services to the public, they should reflect the way people live their lives with different public services working together, not in isolation. The "way we have always done it" may not be the best way to do it in the future. More services should be available on days and at times when busy and hard-working individuals and families need them;
   
• third, when we make policies, we need to keep in mind what the real aims of the policies are and whether they provide the best results for people and businesses in the long term, rather than merely being a short-term fix in response to events.

You, the public servants, are the people who can bring about the changes this White Paper talks about. Our side of the bargain is to build on the many strengths in the public sector and equip you, through support and training, through incentives and through leadership, to meet the challenges. I look to you to respond to this, to ensure that the policies we make, the services we deliver and the tasks we carry out deliver results, and deliver the best results. That is what I mean by Modernising Government.

I know that many of you, of course, already think hard about the way you work and how things can be improved. This White Paper provides a fresh opportunity to do just that and a firm commitment from the Government to support and encourage all of you to do so. As well as discussion in your own teams and organisations, I would welcome direct feedback to the new modernising government e-mail address: Moderngov@gtnet.gov.uk

Our public services can be the finest in the world. The challenge for all of us is to find the best ways of working together towards a common goal of making things better for the public and the country.

TONY BLAIR

March 1999