Blair's Britain isn't getting better, study shows

Final report criticises police, fire service, schools and railways - but doctors still well thought of

The final survey of Tony Blair's People's Panel will embarrass the Government which has staked its reputation on improving hospitals, schools and the police. A survey of 1,000 people, representing a cross-section of British society, shows that from trains to police and fire service the number of people who say they are happy with their performance is dropping.

The timing of the panel's report yesterday, the last in its four-year life, could not be worse, as Tony Blair prepares for a bruising confrontation with unions over public services at the TUC conference this autumn.

The survey not only records a slip in confidence in operations beset by difficulties, such as trains, but in those such as secondary schools which have received millions of pounds of extra public money.

In 1998, when the panel members were asked about their views on how Britain's public infrastructure, only 10 per cent said they were "very satisfied" with the quality of service offered by railways. By this year that had slipped to 8 per cent. The number of people who said they were fairly satisfied with railways dropped from 43 per cent to 41 per cent over the same time period.

There was also a marked increase in overall dissatisfaction with how the trains were run. The number of those who were "fairly dissatisfied" with the railways jumped from 16 per cent to 22 per cent and the number of those who were "very dissatisfied" rose from 5 per cent to 9 per cent.

Confidence in policing was also fragile. Almost half of the Government's panel were "fairly satisfied" with the police service the year after Mr Blair came to power. But this year the number was only 38 per cent. The number "dissatisfied" with police has grown from 11 per cent to 16 per cent.

The final report shows that two years ago a third of people declared they were "very satisfied" with the service by NHS hospitals. A little more than a quarter express similar confidence today.

There is a similar slip in confidence in the fire service, with a drop from 40 per cent to 21 per cent among those who say they are "very satisfied" since 1998. The number of people who were "fairly satisfied" with the fire service stood at 38 per cent in 1998. Today only 21 per cent have the same perception.

Doctors did relatively well. The number of people very happy with their GPs' performance went down from 56 per cent in 2000 to 51 per cent. But the number who said they were "fairly satisfied" with their doctor's performance, rose from 34 per cent to 38 per cent.

Confidence in the ambulance service has also slipped from a 28 per cent "very satisfied" rating two years ago to 24 per cent and from a 31 per cent "fairly satisfied" rating to 25 per cent in 2002. The People's Panel, who represent Britain's racial and class-based ethnic mix, have had their opinions tracked since 1998. In most cases they have been asked the same questions each year to gauge their views on public services. In some cases their views, designed to reflect the nation's consciousness, have been tracked only over the past two years.

The final report also shows a dramatic reduction in the number of people who are happy with the way local council services are run.

Ministers may be disappointed by the overall perception of improvements in education, a key priority since Labour came to power. Although people have seen an improvement in primary schools, confidence in secondary school provision confidence has slipped. In 1998 39 per cent said they were very satisfied and 43 per cent fairly satisfied, but this decreased to 38 per cent and 40 per cent this year.

The government department which enjoys public satisfaction is work and pensions. Most people said they felt the benefits agency and employment service had improved.

But the biggest winners are museums and galleries and the Passport Agency. In Labour's first term the agency was beset by delays and problems. A clear increase in public satisfaction among members of the People's Panel was recorded for both.