Nick Clegg asks public servants ‘in the know’ how to save taxpayers’ money

Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg is asking people who work in the public sector where they think taxpayers’ money can be saved. Nick Clegg is today visiting a hospital in Sheffield, as well as launching a website where people who work in the public sector can submit suggestions on how to cut waste.

The ‘Ask the People in the Know’ project recognises that serious savings will have to be made to bring public finances under control and seeks the expertise of those working in the public sector on how to cut out waste while protecting services.

Nick Clegg said:

“Hard-working nurses and teachers tell me how frustrated they are by the money which is being wasted on needless paperwork, administration and computer systems that don’t work.

“David Cameron and Gordon Brown are having a sterile debate about the size of the total Whitehall budget. But they’re asking the wrong question: we first need to find out if money is being spent on the right things.

“It can’t be right that billions of pounds are being spent on NHS computer systems which don’t work, yet basic help for people with serious mental health conditions is still lacking because of a shortage of money.

“The people who are best placed to tell us where money is not being well spent are the teachers, nurses, social workers and other public servants who work so hard day and night on our behalf.

“Politicians should stop talking over the heads of public servants. We need to listen to the people in the know on how we can better run public services, making sure that every penny of taxpayers’ money is well spent. That’s what ‘Asking People In The Know’ is all about.”

To find out more about this campaign, please visit this website.

We will make the hard long-term decisions for this country

David Cameron promised not to shy away from difficult decisions on spending, borrowing and taxation in a speech to the British Chamber of Commerce.

He stressed that the Conservatives will inherit the worst public finances of any incoming government in modern British history if we win the next election, and pledged to confront the “fundamental weaknesses” of our economy.

He attacked Gordon Brown for refusing to accept that any of Britain’s economic problems are home-grown:

"I take a different view – our banking system is not separate from our economy, it is a reflection of it. The unsustainable debts in our banks are a reflection of unsustainable debts in our households, our companies and our government."

David admitted that the Conservatives had not recognised this problem as early as we could have, but promised that a Conservative Government would make a “clean break” with the past by correcting Britain’s economic weaknesses:

• Tackling debt, and ensuring Government lives within its means through a new Office of Budget Responsibility
• Creating a more balanced economy, focusing in particular on a renaissance in British manufacturing
• Ending the culture of welfare dependency through radical reform
• Ensuring our banking system is properly regulated

David stressed, “Tackling debt. Rebalancing our economy. Getting people back into work. Regulating our economy properly. If we do all these things, we can confront – and will overcome - the fundamental weaknesses of our economy.”