With the recent spate of so-called ‘regulatory failures’ in the public sector, from the dreadful case of the Mid-Staffordshire hospital, through the harrowing case of Baby P in Haringey, to the national economic disaster overseen by Mr Brown’s tripartite regime, it appears easy for ‘informed commentators’ to now call for more regulation. This appears all too simple for me. Having worked within the NHS for a decade, the one thing I have learnt is that good management has more to do with having good people in place rather than more regulations.
To take the Staffordshire Hospital case for starters, there were three authorities with regulatory responsibilities to guarantee that proper healthcare standards were maintained – Healthcare Commission, PCT, Hospital Trust. Seemingly, they all failed.
In the appalling case of Baby P, despite repeated warnings about the threat to that pitiful child, social services, and by default the Labour council, failed to protect him.
And finally, the on-going banking crisis was overseen by the Bank of England, the Financial Services Authority and the Treasury. Judging by the state of the books, it’s fair to say they also all failed.
My first question in each case would be: which individual(s) failed in his (her) job? My second question in each would be: who should pick up the bill for the disasters that ensued? And my final question would be: were they ‘good’ enough to do their job in the first place?
Without doubt the next Conservative government has a pretty dreadful inheritance to look forward to next year. If it was just about spending (AND saving) money, the challenge would be large, but not insurmountable. My fear is that it is more to do with people and the culture that exists within large swathes of the public sector. How many of the people employed to be regulators in the three examples I have mentioned have remained in post? How many of them have been financially penalised for failing to do their jobs properly? I suspect very few in each case, if any. And that’s the challenge we Conservatives face. To make significant changes to improve the working culture of these regulatory authorities will take a real strength of purpose and significant political will. I expect that it will involve removing (in effect, sacking) quite a few senior public sector employees. I just hope that the British people, rather like in 1979, realise the tough job at hand and give David Cameron a strong mandate to sort out this dreadful mess. For he will need all of the political capital he can muster. Our country now needs talented people able to implement effective regulations, not average people failing to implement unnecessary regulations.
