Has Brown's centralisation had its day?

Andrew Blick (London, Houses of Parliament): You might have easily missed it amidst the media howl about stolen policies and election budgets for elections that never were, but something important for the organisation of government happened this week. Alongside the Pre-Budget Report Alistair Darling introduced the new Comprehensive Spending Review. These latter documents are now far more important than budgets, and with a remit extending beyond mere finance. They contain within them the Public Service Agreements which will be fundamental to the conduct of all government departments up to 2011. The news you may not have heard, then, is that the government has reduced the number of targets from a peak of 250 after they were first introduced in 1998 down to just 30. Here surely is evidence that the centralisation characterising much of Gordon Brown's period as Chancellor of the Exchequer is now judged to have had its day. The concept of 'joined-up government' on the other hand seems to be undergoing a revival, with many targets shared between different departments. While both these developments are positive it is a shame that the role of Parliament in devising and monitoring departmental objectives remains minimal - perhaps an issue to be addressed as part of the government's parliamentary reforms?