Plan for Change
Milestones for Mission-Led Government
This plan sets out the ambitious - but achievable - milestones we aim to reach by the end of this Parliament.
This government was elected to deliver change. To improve the lives of working people and strengthen our country. Here we set out our long-term plan to achieve that.
Our missions - growing the economy, an NHS fit for the future, safer streets, opportunity for all, and making Britain a clean energy superpower - are part of a decade of national renewal, built on the foundations of a stable economy, secure borders and national security.
Having already made significant progress on our missions since July - fixing the foundations of the country and kicking off the first steps - these milestones are fundamental to the success of our long-term missions.
To make sure change is felt by working people across the country over the course of this Parliament, we must focus our missions - prioritising clear, measurable milestones for each:
- Raising living standards in every part of the United Kingdom, so working people have more money in their pocket as we aim to deliver the highest sustained growth in the G7.
- Building 1.5 million homes in England and fast-tracking planning decisions on at least 150 major economic infrastructure projects - more than the last 14 years combined.
- Ending hospital backlogs to meet the NHS standard of 92% of patients in England waiting no longer than 18 weeks for elective treatment.
- Putting police back on the beat with a named officer for every neighbourhood, and 13,000 additional officers, PCSOs and special constables in neighbourhood roles in England and Wales.
- Giving children the best start in life, with a record 75% of 5-year-olds in England ready to learn when they start school.
- Securing home-grown energy, protecting billpayers, and putting us on track to at least 95% clean power by 2030, while accelerating the UK to net zero.
Any one of our milestones would be challenging on their own. Taken together they are the most ambitious yet honest programme for government in a generation.
We are not choosing targets that are easily reached. Instead, we are choosing stretch goals that will make the biggest difference to people’s lives as we deliver a decade of national renewal.
To achieve these milestones, we will need to make tough decisions. The Autumn Budget took the necessary steps to restore economic stability and repair the public finances, and we had already made those difficult decisions, for example in means-testing winter fuel payments.
These are not easy choices, but they are necessary trade-offs to deliver the priorities of working people, while taking a responsible approach to public finances which is required for long-term economic growth.
The Autumn Budget was a once-in-a-Parliament budget to wipe the slate clean to deliver stability. We know we cannot simply tax and spend our way to better public services and delivery of these milestones, nor will we pursue them at any cost. That is why our focus will be on reform to ensure that we are delivering these milestones efficiently and through the best use of taxpayer money.
Through taking a zero-based approach to our next Spending Review in spring, we will look at every line of government spending to prioritise our first steps and the milestones. Where programmes do not represent value for money or deliver on their outcomes, we will take the necessary decisions to find savings, as the government did in ending the Rwanda scheme and scrapping outdated military capabilities.
The milestones outlined here relate to areas that the UK government has a direct role in delivering. As we deliver these milestones, where they are devolved matters, we will work in partnership to share best practice and align effort.
Publishing these now will galvanise the effort of government and the country, and will mean every person in this country can see exactly how we measure up to the things that matter to them.
We will not get everything right. No government can. But accountability is vital.