In terms of this service, Labour's record in investment and putting children at the heart of policy though the Every Child Matters reforms is commendable. But Labour rule has also been an era of micro-management, excessive regulation and guidance, and an obsession with accountability expressed through a minefield of targets, indicators and an over-bearing inspections system.
Paperwork and processes have threatened to take practitioners away from their vocational calling on the frontline. Policy has usually been well-intentioned. But its sheer scale has made it overwhelming and at times counter-productive for those who have to implement it.
All this is grist to the mill for the Conservatives, who promote a vision of a "post-bureaucratic age", where professionals are trusted to take responsibility and don't have to watch their backs. A smaller state with fewer IT systems and quangos, and a narrower inspections system would for them help to realise this vision.
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