Letter from PM To Hilary Armstrong

Letter from PM to Hilary Armstrong 20 May 2006

Appointment: Minister for the Cabinet Office and Social Exclusion

• Read Mrs Armstrong's reply

Thank you for accepting the post of Minister for the Cabinet Office and for Social Exclusion.  I am writing to set out the challenges ahead for Government and in particular for your Department.

As a Government the key overarching domestic challenges for us are: to build on our unprecedented record of economic achievement ensuring our country can compete and win in the global knowledge economy, to take key decisions in the coming period to ensure the long term security and prosperity of our country and its people, to sustain the momentum of public service modernisation showing how investment and the programme of reform is delivering real improvements for ordinary hard-working families, and to underline our Government's commitment to social justice through policies to expand opportunity and tackle the most deep seated causes and symptoms of social exclusion.

Given this context, I am therefore asking all Secretaries of State to identify the key challenges for their Departments and how they propose to deliver against these.   

For the Cabinet Office my priorities are as follows.

First, I would like you to spearhead a renewed drive to address the most socially excluded in our society.  I would like you to Chair the new Cabinet Committee on Social Exclusion, and to publish an Action Plan in the Autumn setting out how we will reach the most excluded.  Your immediate priority will be to focus on the following:

• Improving the early identification of the most at-risk households, individuals and children.  This better identification must be used to target our interventions more effectively on those most at risk to themselves and to others.
• Children in Care, a particularly vulnerable group. You should work with Alan Johnson to ensure that any new reforms build on the improvements in outcomes for Children in Care over recent years to deliver radically higher aspirations and outcomes for these children.
• Teenage pregnancy, while falling over recent years, is still too high. You should work with Alan Johnson to ensure that the forthcoming Teenage Pregnancy Strategy is ambitious and effective.
• Given the costs that mental illness imposes on individuals and society, particularly when associated with other issues such as drug dependency, you should work with Patricia Hewitt, John Hutton and John Reid to ensure that we are delivering effective services and routes into employment for those with mental health problems.  You should also work with the Chief Secretary to ensure that the Cross Cutting Review on mental health finds new ways to allow people with mental health problems to find and retain work.
• Supporting ongoing work by the Respect Unit, with improved programmes of strong intervention to help prevent the problem families of tomorrow.

I also wish you to take over responsibility for the 10 year review of the long term trends and drivers of social exclusion and the systemic reform needed to address them as already begun by the Social Exclusion Unit under the direction of DavidMiliband.

I would like you to work very closely with the Treasury and other Departments to help secure the best possible outcomes for excluded people and groups in the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review.

I would like us to have an early discussion with Ruth Kelly to discuss the contribution that the new Department for Communities and Local Government can make to your work.

Second, the new Office of the Third Sector needs to have a strong influence across Whitehall and to enjoy the confidence of the sector.  You should work in partnership with the sector to make progress in the key areas of public service delivery, philanthropy, volunteering, building strong communities and social enterprise.  You should also maintain and improve the legal, regulatory, fiscal and funding framework in which the sector operates.

In many areas of public service delivery the third sector has the potential for better user focus, better reach and better outcomes than the state, both in terms of service quality for users and value for money for the taxpayer . Within a year you should aim to have achieved a step change in the provision of public services by social enterprises, charities and other third sector organisations, particularly in areas such as NOMS, children's services, health, employment services and community care.  You should get firm commitments from key Departments by the summer and have an implementation plan ready for publication in early autumn.

Ed Miliband should lead the Third Sector Review, announced by the Chancellor in Budget 2006, reporting to you and to the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, ensuring that any recommendations are fully integrated into the 2007 Comprehensive Spending Review process.

On giving, you should aim towards it becoming the norm for people to give a percentageof their income to good causes in a tax-efficient manner.

You should also aim to increase overall levels of volunteering across all age ranges and backgrounds.  On young people, the key challenge is to have amillion more young peoplevolunteering within5 years.

A strong civil society is a pillar of a healthy democracy.  The third sector has a role as a voice and advocate for its beneficiaries.  You should d evelop a strategy for embedding the role of third sector organisations in communities, working in close partnership with DCLG. The sector should be fully represented at all levels of local and regional decision-making and should playa partnership role in devolved decision-making.

An important role for Government is to maintain a modern and effective legal, regulatory, fiscal and funding framework in which the sector can thrive.  It will be important to see the Charity Law Bill through Parliament in the current session. 

You should also ensure that social enterprise solutions are properly incorporated into the policies and programmes of all relevant Government Departments, especially the DTI and its agencies, which should continue to promote social enterprise as a mainstream business model.  You also need to ensure that the Government continues to provide the environment, and the appropriate business support and investment, to help social enterprise to flourish and to help deliver the Government's policy goals.

Third, taking forward the better regulation agenda will be critical, both for our credibility with business and in reducing burdens on front-line public sector staff.  I therefore want you to develop and implement an ambitious agenda.  This will need to include:

• Ensuring the Legislative and Regulatory Reform Bill retains wide powers to implement better regulation reforms.
• Ensuring Departmental simplification plans include serious proposals for improving regulation including challenging targets for reductions in administrative burdens.
• Making sure that new policy proposals which impose regulatory costs are subjected to rigorous challenge and scrutiny through the PRA process.
• Building on the work of the Better Regulation Commission to produce further proposals to extend risk-based regulation.
• Continuing to work with Departments to ensure better regulation is also reflected in EU processes and legislation.

Fourth, it is also clear that data sharing and linking is key to delivery of effective Government and key aspects of our reform agenda.  I would like you to take forward as a priority the work of the Cabinet Committee on Data Sharing, developing a long-term strategy by the Autumn, which will remove obstacles to effective data sharing. 

By the end of June, I would welcome your preliminary assessment of key challenges across your Department, including the key milestones and risks in each area, and the main actions you propose to meet these challenges.  As a first step, I would be grateful if you come back to me by the end of May on how you and your Ministerial team plan to meet the objectives set out in this letter.  I am keen that we make the very best use of our excellent team in Government.

Your plans will, of course, need to be set against the background of lower growth in funding than in recent years.  This means the Zero Based and Efficiency Reviews currently underway, combined with Departmental Capability Reviews, will be a critical input, and I would like you to give these your personal attention to ensure that the Department's spending is effective and fit for purpose as we move forward.

Thank you again for accepting this important and exciting post.  I look forward to discussing it with you further.

Tony Blair