Blair pledges public services revamp

Blair: "Challenge is to raise the standard"

Tony Blair is calling on Britons to prepare for a year of "unprecedented" changes throughout the public services.

In his New Year message to the nation, the prime minister warns the reforms will be "unsettling" but says they are necessary build an effective system for the future.

The government's focus is on health, education, transport - particularly the railways, the justice system and policing, Mr Blair adds.

The public sector is undergoing an unprecedented amount of reform to revive it

He also promises to continue the fight against terrorism and says it is "massively" in Britain's interests that the European single currency is a success.

Mr Blair says the 10-year plans for health, education and transport drawn up during Labour's first term will provide the framework for long-term investment after years of neglect.

'New ethos'

"Investment must be matched by reform or it is wasted, and this coming year reform will be happening throughout the public services," he says.

There is "huge frustration" about the transport system

"Reform to secondary schools, reform throughout the NHS, reform to the police service, reform to our criminal courts, reform to the way the railways are run, reform to higher education.

"The public sector is undergoing an unprecedented amount of reform to revive it, set it free from unnecessary constraints."

The prime minister says that while such changes will be "unsettling", he believes they will also bring about "a new sense of public service ethos, where staff and consumers are proud of what our public services can deliver."

While acknowledging "plenty of bad stories about the NHS", Mr Blair insists: "Investment plus reform is helping provide care as good as anything on offer anywhere in the world.

"The challenge is to raise everyone to the standard of the best," he says.

"I know there is a way to go - but I am clear about how to get there."

'Difference' to railways

Mr Blair also accepts there is "huge frustration" about the transport system.

"I am not going to pretend that we can put our transport system right quickly, particularly at a time when more people want to travel and use public transport than ever before," he says.

But, Mr Blair insists, investment of £180bn over 10 years, partnerships between public and private sectors and "a new, simpler, less bureaucratic system" to replace Railtrack will "start to make a difference".

The changes proposed in March's White Paper on the criminal courts will ensure "tougher sentences for persistent and dangerous offenders" and "a greater focus on how to prevent re-offending", he continues.

While improvements in primary education will be extended to secondary schools.

The PM is calling on communities to fight vandalism

Mr Blair also calls for "a society founded on rights and responsibilities, in which people accept more willingly their obligations to others".

"Drugs and drug-related crime, mindless violence, graffiti and vandalism, a basic lack of respect for fellow citizens and the environment scar too many of our communities," he says.

"It is time for the communities to fight back and for the decent values of the majority to prevail."

Mr Blair also calls for "a concerted effort" to end the conflict in the Middle East.

Speaking about the international effort to tackle terrorism in the wake of the 11 September, he says: "There has been huge progress - but the job is not yet done.

'Big challenges'

"Many thousands of terrorists have been trained in the terror camps of Afghanistan and have long since left there.

It is massively in our interests that the euro succeeds

"They continue to pose a risk and the international community must continue to be vigilant and determined in rooting them out and shutting down their networks."

Mr Blair flags up the new year introduction of the Euro currency, saying with so much British trade with Europe "it is massively in our interests that the euro succeeds".

And he reiterates the government's intention to join the single currency when the economic conditions are right.

The coming year will bring "big challenges" according to Mr Blair.

But he concludes: "On our strong economic foundations, with proper investment now going into our public services, with the right arguments about the type of society we want, with Britain growing stronger in the world, with the right values for today, I am confident that we are well placed to meet them."