Peter Jackson column

Apr 20 2006 By Peter Jackson, The Journal

Joined up government was something we were offered back in the heady days of 1997.

Under New Labour one part of the Government machine would be aware of another and each would march in step to advance the Blair programme.

It would not be like the Conservative Government, under which, for example, one arm of government would produce some - completely spurious - figures on the maximum safe weekly consumption of alcohol, while another would recommend the minimum weekly consumption of red wine necessary to protect against heart disease. Inevitably, the latter figure was greater than the former.

But, in the event, not much has changed. Take, for example, the decision to allow pubs to open all day, despite considerable advice to the contrary.

My sympathies lie with the Government on this one, believing as I do that, in so far as is practical, people should be allowed to do as they choose.

If, however, we are going to trust people to drink sensibly, it seems more than a little perverse to then propose putting health warnings on bottles of alcohol. People either know what's good for them or they don't. Anyway, such warnings are hardly likely to affect sales in an industry which will put a dead worm in a bottle of tequila as a marketing ploy.

Similarly, the Government announced earlier this month that it was providing £45m to employ 500 independent debt advisers over the next two years.

This is good and worthy and a thoroughly sensible response to the news that almost two million people in the UK owe more than £10,000 on credit cards, overdrafts or other unsecured loans and that about half a million owe more than £20,000.

But it sits oddly with the Government's other policy of relaxing regulations on betting and gaming, of allowing the creation of Las Vegas-style super casinos and of granting permission for a further 16 smaller casinos.

To be fair, it may be unreasonable to expect total consistency. It is, after all, the Government of Britain and in this country we have never reconciled the Roundhead and Cavalier in our national character.

It is also an inevitable consequence of government trying to involve itself in every aspect of national life, a programme which is bound to make it look bossy and silly.