The ongoing credit crunch means the need for public service reform is greater than ever, a senior business leader has warned. In a speech on 26 June, CBI director general, Richard Lambert, said the debate over reforms to schools, hospitals and councils ‘should never be restricted to times of economic plenty'. Mr Lambert told the CBI's public services summit: ‘It is exactly when a period of fiscal belt-tightening is upon us that we should strive to find innovative ways of delivering services, and discuss new ideas that will help meet people's desires for more or better services.' Mr Lambert's clarion call was supported by a CBI-commissioned YouGov poll, which showed that two-thirds of the public believed the pace of policy reform should intensify. Fewer than one in 10 people said reform should slow down, YouGov found. The CBI claimed the poll exposed the extent to which trade union attempts to ‘strong arm' ministers into halting reforms were out of kilter with public opinion. Unison disputed the CBI's findings and claimed that local authority staff supported a rethink over plans to reform town halls, schools and the NHS.
