The Tories today announced a £52m plan to tackle the hospital superbug MRSA should they win the general election. Hospital matrons would be put in charge of cleanliness and infection control on wards, the shadow health spokesman, Andrew Lansley, said this morning. Mr Lansley said: ìAt the moment resources are not getting through to the frontline. Matrons don't have the power to close wards because of government targets.î In support of that argument, the Conservative leader, Michael Howard, referred to a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) that he said showed hospital managers were putting government health targets ahead of tackling MRSA. He said: ìThe NAO found that in 12% of cases where local infection teams had asked that the ward should be closed they were refused by managers because if it meant closing the ward they would miss government targets.î Mr Lansley said a recent survey of 2,000 nurses revealed that 68% of them said they did not have access to 24-hour, seven-day-a-week cleaning services on hospital wards, while 41% said they did not have time to clean beds between patients. He said: ìHow can you deliver the quality [of services] we know that frontline staff want to deliver if that is the case?î Mr Lansley said the £52m plan to fight MRSA was ìpositive action to support frontline staff in hospitals. This is in contrast to the Labour government, which has failed to take action." The health secretary, John Reid, hit back by saying the Tories' record on MRSA when they were in office was poor. "The Tories did not and cannot tackle MRSA," he said. "The Tories failed to tackle MRSA while in office. The Tories only idea for tackling MRSA, allowing nurses to shut wards, has been slammed by nurses themselves. You cannot tackle the superbug with a soundbite." "But we face a difficult challenge because between 1993 and 1997 the percentage of MRSA increased from 5 per cent to 30 per cent over four years before settling at just over 40 per cent," he added. He said Labour had already reintroduced the matron and given the post responsibility for control of infections. Earlier today, the Liberal Democrats said if they won the election they would empower local councils to commission health services because they are more accountable than primary care trusts. At an election debate at the King's Fund thinktank in London this morning, the party's health spokesman, Paul Burstow, said bringing health commissioning alongside social services commissioning would mean delivering services in a more integrated way. He said: "It's a small change but a huge challenge." The Liberal Democrats want to transfer commissioning powers from primary care trusts - which are unelected - to town halls, where, they believe, an elected membership creates a more accountable environment. However, the party would implement the government's proposals for GPs to commission health services and allow primary care trusts to retain the authority to provide services. The proposal to hand health commissioning to town halls "was not justified", the health minister, John Hutton, told the invited audience. He said the next reforms from the Labour government would focus on primary care, patients with long-term conditions and mental health services. He said: "We want to get away from reactive care in acute settings to care that is in the community keeping people in their own homes." The NHS doesn't need the changes such as moving commissioning services into local councils. It's not justified." Mr Lansley said there was "no desire" within local government to take control of health.