Whitehall powers 'must be devolved'

Alan Milburn will admit today that "finger-wagging" by the Government has failed to improve public services and will call on Labour to abandon its top-down approach.

In a frank admission that the Government needs to devolve more power to local level, the Secretary of State for Health will propose a review of the size and role of Whitehall's growing empire, saying it has extended its remit from policy to service delivery. Mr Milburn will say: "It is naive in my view to believe that self-denying ordinances on the part of Whitehall not to intervene will be enough. If we want to place limits on the role of Whitehall, we will need limits on the size of Whitehall."

Mr Milburn, who has been accused of issuing too many central targets for the NHS, believes public-sector workers will not back reform unless they are given more decision-making power.

He will argue that a better balance is needed, but will reject the extremes of national standards and local autonomy. "It is not either national standards or local control. It is both," he will say.