§ 35. Lady Olga MaitlandTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what response he has had in relation to league tables provided under the citizens charter initiatives.
§ Mr. David DavisThere has been great interest in the tables on the performance of schools and colleges, with more than 1 million copies distributed each year. Parents, pupils and employers value the information and the informed choices that it enables them to make. Patients of the NHS will quickly find the new tables on hospital and ambulance performance similarly useful.
Those who use or pay for public services are entitled to know the performance of those services. Under the citizens charter, more and better information about the performance of public services in being provided, to make them directly accountable to the people who pay for them.
§ Lady Olga MaitlandIs my hon. Friend aware of the Financial Times leader which welcomed the league tables and said that they were a spur to a better service and discipline? The Financial Times also stated that the Labour party had no policy on comparisons for customers.
§ Mr. DavisMy hon. Friend is absolutely right. So far today, the Financial Times and The Guardian have spoken on our behalf, but I suspect that I should lead with the views of the hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair), who has said:
parents should have as much information as possible…parents should know how well their kids are doing…the kids should be properly assessed".At some point in the future, the hon. Gentleman will have to back that up with some detail—a feature which has been eminently missing in the past few weeks.
§ Mr. BarnesMay we have a league table for Ministers? Would any of them score any points, and could they all be relegated in one fell swoop?
§ Mr. DavisThe Conservative party does not elect a shadow Cabinet, which is just as well, in view of the results.