Blair prepares 'company style' report for UK plc

Tony Blair will produce a company-style report on the performance of UK plc under his ‘chairmanship’ by the end of next month.

Senior government sources confirmed to Accountancy Age that Downing Street has opted for a glossy and detailed publication ahead of a US presidential-style ‘State of the Nation’ address to mark the first anniversary of Labour’s election.

The document will be the first of a series of annual reports on New Labour’s performance. It will be in the style of a modern company report with a forward by Blair.

The report will set out government targets for the first 12 months – which have either been met, exceeded or missed. There will be no independent audit, but all the figures will appear in a similar fashion to company accounts.

Clear facts and figures will be laid out, obtained from sources including the National Audit Office. There will be financial and economic figures on the UK’s performance, although a senior Treasury source said details of how these were to be framed were not finalised.

Andrew Dilnot, head of the Institute of Fiscal Studies, warned the exercise could provide meaningless financial information: ‘The government must set out clear objectives and include falsifiable statements if the report is to be useful.’