Burnham Had to Phone Department of Health
Checked His Own Risk Register Policy
“Why isn’t this government carrying on the precedents started by the previous government” squawked Burnham in the House a moment ago. Apparently this Risk Register is not the same as Labour’s Risk Register in 2009. If that is the case, it is odd then that the reasons officials gave for not releasing the two Registers are remarkably similar. Almost as if they were written by the same civil servant.
Here is Lansley’s answer:
“Whilst conscious that there will be public interest in the contents of the Department’s Risk Register and assessments being made freely available, the public interest in preserving the ability of officials to engage in discussions of policy options and risks without apprehension that suggested courses of action may be held up to public or media scrutiny before they have been fully developed or evaluated has also been taken into account.”
And here is Burnham’s from 2009:
“Whilst we are conscious that there will be public interest in the contents of the Strategic Risk Register being made freely available, we have also taken into account the public interest in preserving the ability of officials to engage in discussions of policy options and risks without apprehension that suggested courses of action may be held up to public or media scrutiny before they have been fully developed or evaluated. “
Has Burnham forgotten his former position? Well yes it would appear he has. Health sources were most amused yesterday when a worried Burnham called the department’s civil servants to check whether he did indeed approve a decision not to publish his Risk Register. Whoops…
Stick that up your arse Labour!
what a bunch of numties cannot even get a simple thing like this right. It shows how shallow some of our politicians are. he could have googled this in seconds to check his response to this instead ends up looking like a right pillock.
I couldn’t really get that angry or interested in the Health reforms until I heard that harridan pensioner with a plastic bag trying to give Lansley a hard time and Milliband’s performance at PMQs today… Full steam ahead with the reforms and sod the vested interests. The Health service is run for the tax payer and patients not the Unions and “professional bodies” that are kicking up a fuss. Go get’em Dave!
How it actually works in government departments : the Minister rarely does any of his own donkey work – that is what his civil service staff are for. And since it is ‘a job for life’ they pass from one government to the next. The civil servants do all the leg work, they write on behalf of the Minister, when a consultation is required, they create the framework, ask the questions, collate, analyse and interpret the responses on behalf of the Minister. They tell the Minister what they believe the outcome of the consultation was. Only in really high profile instances, does the Minister ever get involved. So it is not at all surprising that Lansley and Burnham has very similar responses. Not at all surprising that ex Ministers can’t remember what they said, since it was all some civil servants work.
What you often see is the ‘servant’s’ opinion rather than the Minister’s … they are the ones who really run this country.
The fact that he had to phone the department to check whether he blocked the release of the risk register in 2009 proves that the decision was not take on any belief or principle.
Just as this opposition is not based on any principle belief either.
All Burnham could do was smirk when confronted on this by Cameron.
They really do have some first calss shits in the labour party at the moment. About the only thing that thay are first class at.
You’re right and the fact that they are still all the same shits that wrecked this country and are in denial irks even more so!!
Everyone says this bill ain’t getting communicated properly so I need to find a scape goat… Reform recently claimed the Home Office and MoJ were amongst top departments: http://www.reform.co.uk/pages/4231/view
Both of these departments have something in common – news desks that rebut inaccurate stories in a speedy way.
I made a mistake of cutting staff at DH news desk so I’m going to alleviate it by completely scalping the news desk function in the press office and all my Bill problems will be solved and everything will be ok. Watch this space.
OT sorry but, For the 17th year auditors have refused to approve EU accounts? Dirty corrupt money grabbing arseholes: #FUEU
Not surprising. Yawn.
Can we refuse to pay them?
No, because we don’t pay, they extort.
This changes nothing, except it makes them both Hunts. The risk register still needs to be published
What you done understand is that when policy papers are written many are in draft form that get revised and many issues get left off. Also to discuss issues with senior civil servants freely. To list the contents of the register also enables the names of civil servants who wrote a policy to be identified, for example if a paper is written on bio terrorism and identifies the author that information is useful to a terrorist as he can then research the background of the civil servant and obtain info about him and his family and also a picture of him.
The old ‘Fight against terrorism’ gambit eh!
No wonder Burnham looked so agitated when Cameron sprung a surprise on Miliband at pmqs by having the Labour briefing paper with the details of Burnham’s block of the register.
Missing, one garden gnome, goes by the name of Andy.
If found please return to Mrs Jasperson, 42 Ventnor Avenue, Tunbridge Wells.
Missing, stair-rods.
If found please return to Jonny, c/o mumsy Caroline.
This changes nothing apart from making them both sneaky bastards.
Just publish the damn thing Lansley. If you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to fear.
Not that I approve of this, but why not simply pay individuals the cost of their healthcare at private hospitals? Why is everyone so keen to preserve a government monopoly?
Everyone? Doctors union knows what a cushy deal they’ve got (at taxpayer expense), and the BBC loves marxist institutions regardless of the death toll.
Yaeh, the buggers, everyone ends up dead
How can you not remember what your opinion is unless your opinion is being dictated by the Unions?
Burnham? Looks like a prat, thinks like a prat, talks like a prat. Is a prat .
ITV news said Cameron put up a robust defence at pmqs. Anyone watching BBC news would think Miliband destroyed him. Nick Robinson actually said it was Ed’s third good performance in a row!
Has anybody seen bbc news mentioning the crown court trial in rochdale involving 16 of the 47 accused of sexual offences against white girls?
The local papers seem to be covering it;perhaps the beeb feel we shouldn’t be told.
Surprising when you consider that Cam*ron is hosting a meeting to discuss racism.
Plenty on BBC North West news.
Surprised that the BBC don’t issue the phone numbers on their web-site!!
Worse than that was Norman Smith’s appraisal on the One o’ Clock News. He described the tories being battered (he used the term punch drunk) staggerring to the time when the bill becomes law.
Not for the first time in recent months, there was no balance or even an attempt at balance in Smiths report – which could at least have mentioned the robust response that other journalists had noted – or the fact that Labour and Burnham have questions to answer themselves over their opposition to reforms they kicked off and their hypocracy over the risk register.
Clearly the BBC’s aim to be the most trusted news organisation in the world remains a far off aspiration and will remain so untill they clear out their stables.
You’ll enjoy this ‘independent’ BBC report on potential loss of tax relief on pensions…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17041162
And those who pay the new 50% tax rate on their taxable earnings over £150,000 – the additional rate – save 50p per pound of pension contribution.
How jolly nice.
All this is a direct subsidy from the government – in other words, other taxpayers
There you go. Labour (and BBC) thinking in a nutshell. When they don’t take tax money off you they’re actually ‘subsidising’ you. They really have got this idea of whose money it is in the first fucking place arse-about-tit.
Move along there – nothing to see here.
Listen mon! Me not wanna shake Neo Guido’s hand! He a bloodclaat! He be an agitator who wanna divide and rule, yer get me?! Booyakasha!
Sic transit gloria mundi
Please let us know how she is.
Gloria was unwell in the van on Monday.
hey Daisy, snap!
By the way did you know that Caesar adsum jam forte?
inmu deelsar inclae nonar
Brutus aderat.
Labour are the Keystone Kops of politics.
Last week Burnham was on the run. Fully expected him to be in the crosshairs this week, what’s happened, why the let up.
Leave Andy alone. He is a wonderful advert for our eye-liner.
OK but I just wish he’d change his shirt. He’s had that same one on since the start of the leadership comp.
do the political class think we are so stupid that we cannot find young people to employ?
the main reasons why I don’t employ more people
1) I pay too much corporation tax and NI
2) I am worried if I employ someone I cannot get rid of them if they turn out not to be a good employee
3) I am worried that my older employees will not retire – I am not sure how to deal with that
4) Employment legislation is an ever moving position, usually in favour of the person who no longer wants to carry out the job they were employed to do.
This year, my spare profit will go to contract hire a BMW 535i with full service option – at least I know what
Just to demonstrate that the average citizen doesn’t have clue about the way the NHS is managed: aren’t GPs self employed and therefore technically independent private businesses merely contracted to provide services to the public? Nobody seems bothered by that.
Well said! And in addition to that they were given a bumper rise by Gordon Brown to do shorter hours!
Seems as though his short/medium term memory is waning fast
ie a marker for Alzheimer’s
Looks like he is going to need some attention from the NHS before too long in a way he hadn’t anticipated
I look forward to the leak re his Mini Mental State Examination( MMSE) in the Sun in about 6 months.
Maybe a good shower and hair wash would help Burnham.
Wrong. The Keystone Kops were loveable and provided entertainment.
Burnham has just been speaking in parliament. Burnham is a complete and utter twat.
Burnham has just been s p e a king in parliament. Burnham is a complete and utter twat.
I didn’t know Andy is a part time actor. He played the mayor in The Dark Knight didn’t he? http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/10800000/Mayor-Garcia-the-dark-knight-10838185-534-422.jpg
Ed took a gamble reappointing Mascara Man as a Health Spokesman, who theb promptly used The don’t blame me I’m only the man in charge defence at the Staffs Hospital Inquiry.
Read Bradshaw’s evidence and weep.
Read Mascara Man’s evidence weep and wonder about Deadwood’s judgement.
More confirmation of ‘Indian Bicycle Marketing’
http://markwadsworth.blogspot.com/2008/06/indian-bicycle-market.html
Inept performance from Burnham in the Commons and routed by Lansley, on top of his game.
Labour’s cliches, jeers and smears fail to disguise their ignorance of NHS facts.
Dopey Ed must be regretting PMQ’s. Burnham out of his depth.
Spot on. Have a great night.
Does anyone really give a shit about this? Camoron hosts an “anti-racism” discussion at no. 10, whilst at Liverpool Crown court 11 muslims…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5upoj7IRN0
Celebrate the rich multi-cultural diversity !
If, as is being suggested by the Tories, that Labour was wrong for not releasing the risk register, sure the superior thing to do would be to release the risk register?
“Change – if it is to endure, if it is to really work – should have the support of people who work in our NHS. We have to take our nurses and doctors with us… we want to work with them, not against them.”
What a Huhne Cameron is.
the risk register should not be published, it would alter the dynamic, and be useless.
It is Yes Minister…
As an ex-senior policy advisor advising Ministers i know for a fact that what the Tories are saying about publishing the NHS Risk Register is complete bollocks. A risk register not only details the risk but the likelihood and the significance of the risk but also the measures to mitigate against and the contingency plan therefore it is easy to defend against it being taken out of context. Possible disclosure of a risk register would never prevent an advisor from giving ‘difficult advice’. What utter rubbish.
I’m disappointed that Labour Ministers were caught out having blocked the issue of Risk Registers in other cases while they were in Government. It really shows a lack of understanding about the risk management process. So much for open Government from politicians of all flavours.