Blair attacked over private contracts

William Hague harried Tony Blair yesterday over the Government's plans to contract out operations to privately run surgery centres.

Mr Hague used the first Prime Minister's Question Time since the election to increase the heat over Labour's plans to increase the role of contractors in delivering public services.

He pressed Mr Blair to confirm that new specialist clinical centres would be run by private managers. He also pointed to backbench and union unease at moves to increase commercial involvement in hospitals, schools and other services.

Charles Kennedy, the Liberal Democrat leader, also went on the attack, lambasting the failures of Railtrack, and calling on Mr Blair not to transfer the company's practices to classrooms and hospital wards.

Mr Hague said: "Isn't it vital if there is to be reform that it should be straightforward and honest? There are huge expectations in the country, which you have built up because of the radical nature of your promises, and a failure to deliver results would bring deep disenchantment in the country."

Mr Blair responded: "The distinction is between working with the private sector better to deliver the health service and the privatisation you favour. The other distinction is between the largest investment programme the NHS has ever embarked on over the next three years or £20bn of cuts under the Conservatives. We stick by the policies we put forward at the election. Do you?"