Government Delivery Index - Public Remain Sceptical About Public Services

The Government may have stopped the slide in public confidence about its ability to deliver improved public services, according to the latest MORI Social Research Delivery Index.

The research shows the public remains sceptical about improvements in public services generally: 31% agree government policies will improve public services in the long-term, compared with 57% who disagree. However, this represents a slight improvement compared with July this year, when only 28% were optimistic and 62% were pessimistic.

On the specific policy areas, the picture is more mixed:

Quality of education: The latest MORI Political Monitor shows that education is seen as the third most important issue facing the country, and here optimism outweighs pessimism: 33% expect it to get better; 25% expect it to get worse. This represents a net* score of +8%, and is an improvement from -1% in June this year.

Policing: 24% expect it to get better; 23% expect it to get worse. This represents a net score of +1% (in June this year the net score was -1%).

Less positive results show:

NHS: This continues to be seen as the most important issue facing the country: 27% think the NHS will get better; and 39% expect it to get worse. This represents a net score of -12% (compared with -10% in June this year, and +14% in May 2002).

Transport: 25% expect it to get better; 36% expect it to get worse. This represents an improvement since June 2003 (from -16% net) to -11% net.

Environment: 27% expect it to get better; 37% expect it to get worse. This represents a net score of -10%, compared with -13% net in June.

"Stay the same"

As well as convincing the public that key public services are not going to get worse over the next few years, the Government faces a large proportion of the public who think each of the services will neither improve nor get worse -- around one-third say this about each of the services mentioned above, rising to 49% who think the way their area is policed will stay the same.

Technical Details:

MORI interviewed a representative quota sample of 961 British adults, aged 18+. Interviews were conducted by telephone between 19-21 September 2003. Data are weighted to match the profile of the population. * Net better refers to the percentage of people who think the service will get better minus those who think it will get worse (a negative net figure means more think a service will get worse than better)

Topline Results

• MORI interviewed 961 adults 18+
• Fieldwork conducted by telephone between 19-21 September 2003
• Data weighted to the national population profile
• An '*' indicates a finding of less than 0.5%, but greater than zero
• Where percentages do not add up to exactly 100% this may be due to computer rounding, the exclusion of "don't knows" or to multiple answers

On balance do you agree or disagree that ...

Q1 In the long term, this government's policies will improve the state of Britain's economy?

Q2 In the long term, this government's policies will improve the state of Britain's public services?

Q3-7 Thinking about... over the next few years do you expect it to...?