UK central Government presented the 'Modernising Government (1.39MB - pdf help)' (pdf 1431k) white paper to parliament in March 1999. In the paper Tony Blair said: The Government has a mission to modernise ­ renewing our country for the new millennium. We are modernising our schools, our hospitals, our economy and our criminal justice system. We are modernising our democratic framework, with new arrangements for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the English regions, Parliament and local authorities.

But modernisation must go further. It must engage with how government itself works. Modernising government is a vital part of our programme of renewal for Britain. The old arguments about government are now outdated ­ big government against small government, interventionism against laissez-faire. The new issues are the right issues: modernising government, better government, getting government right.

Modernising Government is a significant step forward in what is a long-term programme of reform. It puts in place a number of important initiatives, and sets out an agenda for the future. But in line with the Government's overall modernisation programme, in line with our policy of investment for reform, it is modernisation for a purpose: modernising government to get better government ­ for a better Britain.

This paper is central to the Government's approach to the renewal and reform of government and outlined the following aims:

• Ensuring that policy making is more joined up and strategic.
• Making sure that public service users, not providers, are the focus, by matching services more closely to people's lives.
• Delivering public services that are high quality and efficient.

As a result of the 'Modernising Government' paper a number of initiatives were launched. In April 2000 the 'e-government: A strategic framework for public services in the information age (316KB - pdf help)' (pdf 318k) paper was produced. This set out the Government's strategy for Information Age Government. It focused on better services for citizens and businesses and more effective use of the Government's information resources.