Budgeting for reform

I’ve just been talking Budget with Andrew Haldenby, the director of Reform (read their contribution to Coffee House’s Budget coverage here).  Like most of us, he’s incensed by the level of Government borrowing – particularly as it increases the burden on future taxpayers, a.k.a. today’s “IPOD Generation”.

But he’s a little more optimistic about public service reform.  The reason?  The Budget proposes a “Public Value Programme” to “identify where there is scope to improve value for money and value for money incentives”.  According to Andrew and his colleagues, this could kickstart widespread reform.  The outcome will be a good measure of Brown’s Blairite credentials.

Do read Reform’s full response to the Budget.