Health, education and crime to take Labour centre stage
Today’s focus at the Labour Party conference is sure to be on domestic issues with the heads of the Home Office, Health and Education departments due to speak.
David Blunkett, Charles Clarke and John Reid are all expected to address delegates in Brighton today.
They will most likely flesh-out the domestic policy pledges made by Tony Blair in his speech yesterday afternoon.
Mr Blunkett is expected to focus on plans to speed up the recruitment of thousands more community support officers, starting next month. The Government has pledged to employ 25,000 CSOs by 2008, and to speed up the process Mr Blunkett is expected to announce that £50 million of funding is to be ringfenced for the measure, to see more CSOs on the streets six months ahead of time.
Mr Blunkett is also likely to focus plans to tackle anti-social behaviour and drink and drug related crime.
Mr Clarke will, in all likelihood, expand on Mr Blair’s commitment to vocational skills and education and to give parents greater choice of secondary schools.
On health, the Prime Minister yesterday pledged to give patients a greater choice over hospital and the date of their appointment, as well as future cutting waiting times, and the Health Secretary is expected to expand on these in more detail.
