Coalition publishes full agreement.
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  Coalition publishes full agreement.
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afleitch
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« on: May 20, 2010, 06:44:50 AM »
« edited: May 20, 2010, 06:48:23 AM by afleitch »

http://programmeforgovernment.hmg.gov.uk/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/may/20/conservative-liberal-democrat-coalition-agreement-analysis

Things I like -

Extend anonymity to defendants in rape cases.

End detention of children for immigration purposes.

Halt deportation of asylum seekers who have fled to UK because their sexual orientation or gender identification put them at risk.

Extend right to request flexible working to all employees.

Fair pay review in public sector to implement "20 times" pay multiple. Grin Hear Hear!

Scrap ID card scheme and register.

Outlaw fingerprinting of children at school without parents' permission (I can't believe this was even allowed in the first place...)

Guarantee year-on-year real-terms increases in health spending and end to top-down reorganisations of the NHS; cut by a third the cost of NHS administration and transfer these savings to frontline services.

Establish a commission on long-term care (long overdue for those who act as unpaid carers)

Abolition of regional housebuilding targets, returning decisions on where and how may homes are built to local councils.

Public sector workers will have the right to form co-ops and social enterprises to "become their own boss" and "take over" the services they deliver. Cheesy Yes!
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #1 on: May 20, 2010, 07:03:30 AM »

I take it that you don't like the other stuff then Tongue

Btw, this...

cut by a third the cost of NHS administration and transfer these savings to frontline services.

...is essentially impossible and, if attempted for real, might make things worse for patients on wards. The clear division between administration and frontline services that a lot of people assume must exist, doesn't. The one will suffer if the other is cut seriously. Though I suppose you could always create a special catagory of 'frontline administration' or something.
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Filuwaúrdjan
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« Reply #2 on: May 20, 2010, 07:22:31 AM »

Of course it's questionable how good a guide to the government's agenda this will actually be; the main thrust will be on cuts and much of this is obvious window dressing. However... I do find the stuff wrt local government interesting. What they give with one hand, they take with the other. On the one hand, less regulation over certain policy areas, more powers over a couple of things and less government inspection. On the other, a centrally imposed freeze on council tax (during a time of deep cuts to local government budgets at that) and preventing Ipswich, Norfolk and Exeter from going it alone (which is more significant than it sounds at first). There's also the question of directly elected Mayors; now, will there be referendums on this (as was the policy of the last government) or will they be imposed? There's also another problem there; directly-elected Mayors haven't exactly been a great success in most places where they've been tried. The experiments in Doncaster and Stoke have been nothing short of disasterous, though for different reasons. The main point is that the position of local government won't really change, and my concern is that all governments become more keen on centralisation as time goes by and local election defeats pile up. If the stuff that would increase the powers of local authorities isn't introduced quickly, it might not go through at all.

Btw, the BBC also notes this:

Quote
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Does that mean give local authorities more powers, or does it mean undercutting the role of local authorities in the planning process, to the benefit of local busybodies?

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And on a totally self-interested note, proposed education policy is dreadful and lack of detail wrt higher education disturbing (and the few hints... worse). Not that I'd expected anything else.
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