Listening to the debate about the Programme for Government last week was fascinating for a policy nerd like me.

After over a decade, we have a Programme for Government over the line.

But this achievement was washed away by the tsunami of criticism about the highly aspirational tone of the document and the fact that it did not include enough focus on a host of other policy areas.

The most depressing aspect of the analysis was the seeming acceptance that the executive was unlikely to make meaningful progress on any of Northern Ireland’s public service challenges.

Whenever the failure to reform comes up, the focus of the blame is put at the feet of our political class, who are criticised for lack of bravery or new thinking when it comes to reimagining our public services.

This criticism is not unjustified; too often, our politicians retreat to their comfort zones and fail to use the powers of devolution to their full effect. The ‘blame London’ approach is frequently used to cover up a failure of imagination in Belfast.

However, another part of this debate does not get the attention it deserves: our system of........

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