It has been a stimulating conference in Bournemouth - a chance to meet old friends and get to grips with real ideas. I made a point of watching yesterday's important debate on Private Finance Initiatives. Arguably that is how our joint venture with IBM, South West One, might be categorised. But Liberal Democrats are pragmatic. We always accept that there is room for improvement. So the motion that was carried by conference seeks the following: "Improving independent monitoring and evaluation of public sector comparators before projects are undertaken and of outcomes when projects are under way." What a good idea. Better monitoring and evaluation must make sense for the future. Not that there was in any way anything faulty with the evaluation we carried out befotre SouthWest One was formed. Perish the thought. Another important aspect of this conference motion was to: "Ensure that public sector organisations have the necessary skills and are adequately trained to be competent buyers, ensuring that they secure the taxpayer good value for money." Another good idea. But Somerset got there first. We employed the very best Chief Executive and he did the rest.
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