Fact Sheet 11

Better Quality Services Reviews

What is the aim of Better Quality Services?

1. The Modernising Government White Paper ¹ emphasises the need for continuous improvement in the quality of public services and their value for money. The Better Quality Services (BQS) programme aims to deliver this by systematically reviewing present supply arrangements and putting better ones in place. The focus is on improving what is delivered, whatever the means of delivery: private, public or partnership solutions.

2. BQS is a comprehensive programme across central government. It covers all activities in Departments, Agencies and executive NDPBs. It is based on the same principles as the Best Value programme in local government.

What distinguishes a Better Quality Service review?

3. Individual reviews generally cover a specific service or part of a department (e.g. HQ personnel function), Agency or NDPB rather than the whole organisation. The aim of each review is to reconsider what service is needed, in consultation with users, and then identify the best supplier to deliver both cost and quality gains year on year. Each BQS review considers the following five options:

	abolition;
	internal re-structuring;
	market testing;
	privatisation; or
	strategic contracting out.

Under contracting out or market testing, competitive tendering is required.
Under internal restructuring, benchmarking is used to set improvement standards.

What has to be reviewed and when?

4. All services and activities, including policy and headquarters functions, are reviewed over a five year period. Each Department is committed to reviewing 60% of its activities in the next three years and 100% in the next five years.

Departmental BQS plan

5. Each Department has submitted a BQS plan at Ministerial level that shows how and when coverage will be completed. This includes Executive Agencies and executive NDPBs with an annual budget of over Ł15 million. A Cabinet Committee (PSX) will monitor progress against each Department’s review timetable.

Combining Quinquennial and BQS reviews

6. Some Agencies and NDPBs may want to combine both quinquennial and BQS reviews where this will be sensible and likely to reduce the burden on resources. This is particularly appropriate for smaller organisations or those without a diverse range of responsibilities. In other cases organisations could use their programme of BQS reviews to implement follow-up action from the quinquennial review. A good rule of thumb is that BQS reviews should cover a service or collection of services that could conceivably be put out to competition.

A comparison of BQS and quinquennial reviews

BQS Review

Both

Quinquennial Review

Monitored by Cabinet Committee (PSX)

Central department monitoring

Reports to Parliament through Minister

Covers all activities independently

Covers all activities

Covers all activities in the context of the whole organisation

Each review considers:

internal restructuring.

Each review considers:

	abolition;
	market testing;
	privatisation; and
	strategic contracting out.

Each review considers:

	continued Agency/NDPB status; and
	merger or rationalisation.

Covered every five years

Review normally carried out at end of five year period

Look for best value solutions, continuous improvement and effective contributions to Departmental aims

Linked directly to Departmental Public Service Agreement

Linked to Modernising Government

Linked to Departmental Public Service Agreement through contribution to achieving Departmental aims and objectives

Both

Seek customer/stakeholder/staff views on provision of service/function

Further information and guidance

7. More detailed guidance on BQS reviews can be found in Better Quality Services: A handbook on creating public/private partnerships through market testing and contracting out. 1998, ISBN 0 11 630964 4

8. Further information is also be available from your Departmental BQS manager.
For advice on wider BQS policy contact Jon Green at the Cabinet Office 020 7270 6440

Footnote

1 Cm 4310, Modernising Government, March 1999. Available on the Internet at http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/moderngov/1999/whitepaper/index.htm