David Cameron will open huge data archive to public
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Your support makes all the difference.People will get a new right to know how well their GPs, hospitals, schools and transport services are performing under ground-breaking proposals to be announced today.
David Cameron will force public bodies to publish a mountain of data so consumers can measure the performance of the services they use in what ministers are hailing as the biggest exercise in open government in the world.
The shake-up will reveal:
* Clinical outcomes of every GP practice;
* Complaints made about every NHS hospital;
* Performance of clinical teams in hospitals in treating different conditions including lung cancer;
* Success rates of schools in teaching high-, average- and low-attaining pupils in different subjects;
* Sentences passed by courts, including the age, gender and ethnicity of criminals;
* Re-offending rates of people sent to prison;
* Real-time data on traffic congestion, speeds and incidents on the roads;
* The performance of train operators;
* All government purchases made on procurement cards worth more than £500 after controversy over the use of credit cards.
Although the previous Labour government forced hospitals to publish their death rates, attempts to shine a light on the relative performance of other key services often ran into strong opposition from professional groups such as doctors. Mr Cameron has been closely involved in breaking down the barriers.
Ministers say they are replacing Labour's top-down targets with a flood of new data but admit privately that the move carries political risks. Disclosures about poor services may hand ammunition to their opponents and pressure groups at a time when spending cuts bite.
A long-delayed White Paper on public service reforms – including a bigger role for the private and voluntary sectors in running state-funded services – will be published on Monday.
Francis Maude, the Cabinet Office minister, said: "Information enables choice, which creates competition which drives up standards. Having this data will help people find the right doctor for their needs or the best teacher for their child. And it will stimulate innovation and enterprise in the UK economy."
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