Hunt brings in Blairite heavyweights to aid public sector reform

Jeremy Hunt has called on political heavyweights linked to Tony Blair’s government to help him reform public services.

Delivering his autumn statement to the Commons, the chancellor announced that former Labour adviser Sir Michael Barber had been asked to help with the government’s skills reform programme, and that former Labour health secretary Patricia Hewitt would be advising on how to make sure the new integrated care boards operate efficiently.

Both Hewitt and Barber were key figures in the New Labour project. Barber founded the prime minister’s delivery unit in No 10 during Blair’s second term in office. He had previously worked as chief adviser on school standards between 1997 and 2001 and later became the first ever chair of the Office for Students in 2017.

In 2021, Boris Johnson asked Barber to conduct a “rapid review” of government delivery, to ensure it remains “focused, effective and efficient”.

“There are many important initiatives in place, but as chancellor, I want to know the answer to one simple question,” Hunt told the Commons on Thursday. “Will every young person leave the education system with the skills they would get in Japan, Germany or Switzerland? So I have appointed Sir Michael Barber to advise me and my right honourable friend, the education secretary, on the implementation of our skills reform programme.”

Announcing Hewitt’s new role advising on the new NHS administrative units, Hunt said: “I have asked former health secretary and chair of the Norfolk and Waveney integrated care system Patricia Hewitt to help me and the health secretary [to advise] us on how to make sure the new integrated care boards work properly with appropriate autonomy and accountability.”

Hewitt was thought of as a moderniser in the Blair years, having worked as health secretary in his final administration. She served as a member of parliament for Leicester West from 1997 to 2010.

Responding to the announcement, one Labour insider said: “Why don’t the Tories simply adopt our policies and credit us for it?”