The government is not fulfilling its pledge to link investment in public services with reform, the Conservatives have said.

Ministers are failing to meet their own targets on improving public services, Michael Howard said.

Unveiling a 200-page dossier on the government's public service agreements (PSAs), the shadow chancellor attacked the high-profile reform drive as a "shambles".

The PSAs are negotiated between the Treasury and the spending departments, and are intended to ensure that extra cash is linked to results on the ground.

But, according to the Conservatives, the government has failed, or is on course to fail, nearly 40 per cent of the targets it set in 1998 and 75 per cent of the targets it set in 2000.

"It is quite clear that the PSA system is a shambles," said Howard.

"It is at the heart of Labour's failure to deliver improvements to public services. It shows that increased spending has not been tied to reform as Labour promised."

The opposition is also highlighting the governments inconsistencies on how it intends to enforce the PSAs.

While chancellor Gordon Brown has said the agreements require "reform in return for investment", the Treasury's chief secretary, Paul Boateng, has indicated that money would not be held back from departments that fail to deliver on their targets.