In that sense, his speech could easily have been given by a much more fitting figure for the Ditchley Foundation: Tony Blair.
While Andrew Jones returns as an Under-Secretary to the department from which he was removed as an Under-Secretary.
From community services and mental health treatment, to alleviating PFI debt, the extra cash must be used to prepare the health service for the future.
We spend £251 billion each year on outsourcing and contracting without evidence that this is a good deal for taxpayers.
A highways partnership deal has resulted in fewer potholes, new street lighting – and saved a million pounds a year.
That the company is a government customer isn’t the whole story. After all, few customers must manage the consequences of their supplier’s collapse.
The price of being thought business-minded is that it reflects particularly badly on Tory ministers when the private sector gets it wrong.
Little was achieved beyond inter-authority squabbling over priorities and endless consultants’ reports. The Local Enterprise Partnerships are much better.
The new PFI policy is a classic example.
McDonnell neglected to mention the hundreds of contracts that Labour entered into.
Housing, roads and networks are three priorities for the Autumn Statement.
We will take part in this new programme – designed to ensure that infrastructure projects are delivered on time and within their allotted budget.