Gordon Brown has pledged that there would be no "backtracking" on the programme of public service reform first introduced by Tony Blair.
The Prime Minister said the Budget this week would begin a new chapter of the Government's reform programme.
Public services had moved from below average in 1997 to above average, he wrote in an article for the Financial Times.
His priority and "passion" and the "relentless task" of Government was the pursuit of excellence and "world-class" standards with no toleration or excuses for under-performance, he said.
The "third stage" of the reform programme would not only bring about more choice but help service users and professionals to drive up standards.
"In 2008, the public rightly expect ever-higher quality of public services more personal to their needs - from general practitioners open in the evening and at weekends, and one-to-one tuition for children, to personal budgets for social care and police known personally to local neighbourhoods," he wrote.
"So there can be no backtracking on reform, no go-slow, no reversals and no easy compromises."
