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(about 11 hours later) | |
Public services in Wales such as the NHS, police and councils must become more efficient to avoid cuts, says First Minister Carwyn Jones. | Public services in Wales such as the NHS, police and councils must become more efficient to avoid cuts, says First Minister Carwyn Jones. |
He outlined plans for a new programme which aims to ensure taxpayers get value for money at Wales' first Public Services Summit. | |
He warned senior public sector managers there would be growing pressure on budgets in the coming years. | |
The meeting is ahead of Labour's party conference on Saturday. | |
Mr Jones told the summit at Cardiff City Hall that he believed money made from efficiency savings could then be used to protect vital front-line services. | |
"These are exceptional times which will require exceptional leadership from us all to ensure that we deliver for our communities through the testing times ahead," he said. | |
"We are all facing difficult decisions and choices. Past experience has shown too clearly what happens when financial pressures are translated into all-round cuts in services and front-line jobs - with those in greatest need often taking the biggest hit. | |
"That is unacceptable. As a nation, we have to do everything we can to narrow the equality gap, not widen it." | |
He said future public service summits would be held every four to six months, and would build on the "Team Wales approach" adopted by the economic summits during the recession. | |
"I want today to be about establishing a shared commitment to building the better way and for us to pool our effort and creativity. Building this response is everyone's responsibility," he said. | |
Jane Hutt, Minister for Business and Budget, said Wales was facing an "increasingly tight series of budgets and the challenge was to become both more efficient and more innovative". | |
"There are no simple answers, but we have to do better," she said. | |
"We have to accelerate change. We are beginning to see just what we can achieve if we start from the needs of the citizen. | |
"Efficient services across the public sector are nearly always better services." |
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