The Government has no idea about the success or failure of its target setting!

2.34.49am UTC (GMT +0000) Mon 7th Nov 2005

Julia Goldsworthy MP "It is clear that the Government has no idea how many of its own targets have been successfully met."

Responding to the comments that Lib Dem MP Julia Goldsworthy has discovered that the Government Minister responsible for ensuring the Government's targets are met does not actually know the answer local Councillor Gordon Seekings said "It doesn't surprise me as hardly a week goes by in Crawley Borough Council without a meeting that's got an agenda item on it to discuss yet another target that the Government have set. Council Officers probably now spend as much time discussing targets as actually doing the job they are employed for!"

Julia Goldsworthy discovered at the recent House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee, that the Minister for the Cabinet Office, John Hutton, appeared unclear as to what proportion of targets are being met by Government departments. This is despite it being his department's job to record whether they are.

Mr Hutton was unable to divulge how successful departments have been in meeting their own self - imposed targets, explaining that he would have to look into it and write to her. Commenting, Julia Goldsworthy, said "It is clear from John Hutton's remarks that the Government has no idea how many of its own targets have been successfully met."

"If the Government is not even monitoring its targets then it needs to explain why it is so obsessed with creating an environment of targets and tick-boxes across Westminster."