We want good local services for all

The government is consulting on whether to introduce a legal "right to choice" in public services. This "right" would put the burden on individuals to research different services they could use. It implies that it's OK for some hospitals or schools to be worse than others, as long as people can choose. But we do not want this emphasis on choice, we want a right to good local services that meet our needs. The government should make sure everyone has easy access to high-quality public services, by stopping cuts and privatisation. It should enable communities to work with frontline staff to make public services more accountable and responsive to users. The reality is that the government's "right to choice" and its "community right to challenge" (enabling voluntary groups to force local authorities to open up procurement) are a cover-up for privatisation by the back door. If this goes ahead, private companies will make a killing from taking over our services while everyone else suffers. Readers, if you want a right to good, local, publicly provided services insteadof a "right to choice", you can tell the government how you feel, by this Friday, 22 June, at http://consultation.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ops-calltoevidence/questions/ Paul Smith Atos Victims Group Tirza Waisel and Vicki Morris Barnet Alliance for Public Services Ben Rickman Brent Trades Union Council Pip Tindall Brighton Benefits Campaign Phil Clarke Brighton Stop the Cuts Coalition Alan Gibbons Campaign for the Book Ross Saunders Cardiff Against the Cuts Philip Leicester Charnwood against the Cuts Malcolm Wallace Chelmsford TUC Andrew Causon Cheltenham and Gloucester Against Cuts Mark Tyers Coalition of Resistance, Tyne and Wear Chris Gibson Cornwall Anti-Cuts Alliance Alan Docherty Darlington Against Cuts Linda Burnip, Debbie Jolly and Ellen Clifford Disabled People Against Cuts Mike Arnott Dundee Trades Union Council Julie Boston Friends Of Suburban Bristol Railways Rod Wells Haringey Alliance for Public Services Sean Fox Haringey Unison Ian Harris and Wally Kennedy Hillingdon Against Cuts Sarah Hitchings Lewes Stop The Cuts John Hamilton Lewisham People Before Profit Dave Morris London's Local Anti-Cuts Alliances Tina Purcell Manchester Coalition Against Cuts Rachael McGill National Coalition for Independent Action Rob Williams The National Shop Stewards Network Malcolm Degroot Newport Trades Council/Newport Against The Cuts Norman Adams Northampton Save Our Public Services Jim Lowe, John Gulliver, John Harding, Kathleen Harding, Rosie Haworth-Booth and Christine Basil North Devon Anti-Cuts Alliance Cat Hobbs Oxford Save Our Services Bryn Truscott Redhill Coalition Against Cuts Ian Murray Sandwell Against Cuts Maureen Ivens Save Friern Barnet Library Piers Milne Save our NHS West Midlands Bobby Noyes Southampton and South West Hampshire TUC Chris Kelly Southwark Save Our Services Ian Rathbone Their Cuts – Not Ours Ian Clark Voices for the Library Bob Severn and Nancy Taaffe Waltham Forest Anti-Cuts Union Nick Kelleher Wolverhampton and Bilston TUC Graham Martin York Welfare Campaign Nicola Dodgson anti-cuts campaigner