Introduction

I am delighted to be with you today for this important event as we draw close to the formal introduction of Best Value. I know, though, that Best Value has been high on your agendas for some time now.

I am the Minister in the Cabinet Office responsible for delivering the Modernising Government vision. My role is to inform by explaining management techniques, to inspire through the dissemination of best practice. The gain that you get is an improvement in your work practices and the service that you provide to your customers.

I am acutely aware how important Best Value is to achieving this. So I am pleased to have this opportunity to speak to so many of you from authorities here in the Eastern Region. By informing and inspiring you, we can deliver our agenda.

At this point I should say that my background is in the public sector. I am totally supportive of the public sector. I worked in local government and my first involvement in active politics was working in public sector unions.

So I understand some of the challenges you face, and I want to help you to address them. We are talking about reform and how we modernise and change.

This afternoon, I want to focus on one of the tools that will help us with the modernising agenda. I want to talk about quality schemes and how they can help you to modernise and change by delivering Best Value.

Quality Schemes Task Force

The Quality Schemes Task Force surveyed views across the whole public sector. A third (185) came from local authorities. The responses have informed the Task Force’s recommendations.

In particular, the survey results showed confusion about the different quality schemes available. There was also no clear understanding of how quality schemes fitted with other Government policies, like Best Value. Some of those responding complained of ‘initiative overload’.

There was a clear demand for further guidance, addressing these needs. It is, therefore, very timely that I am launching today the first major product of the Task Force’s work: a guide to how quality schemes can help deliver Best Value. It has been produced specifically to meet the identified need of Best Value authorities.

Quality Schemes and Best Value

The Task Force survey confirmed that the quality schemes most widely used in the public sector were:

• Charter Mark;

• Investors in People; and

• ISO 9000

I’m not suggesting that these quality schemes – singly or together – can, of themselves, deliver Best Value. There are several essential requirements, not the least of which is that you have senior level commitment to delivering Best Value.

How might these four quality schemes help? We need to understand firstly that the Excellence Model provides a useful, high-level analysis across a wide range of aspects in an organisation. It can be used strategically by a whole authority. And it can also be used on a smaller scale within parts of an authority. The Excellence Model identifies strengths and areas for improvement. It fits well with the review requirements of Best Value.

The other three tools are useful for more detailed analysis and development of particular areas:

• Charter Mark concentrates on service delivery and is the best choice for tackling issues of this type;

• Investors in People will help you tackle staff training and development; and

• ISO 9000 will assist with process issues.

Most authorities have used one or more of these four schemes. Often authorities have found an additional advantage of the schemes increasing the motivation and engagement of their staff. And a few are now beginning to adopt the more coherent approach to quality schemes. Looking at these schemes in a little more detail will show how they fit with the detailed requirements of Best Value:

Use of the Excellence Model is also growing among local authorities. The most recent survey showed that over 40% of authorities that had completed Best Value reviews had made some use of the Excellence Model. The Model fits well with Best Value for several reasons:

• It involves reviewing many aspects of the existing organisation. It provides a structure for carrying out reviews and it also helps ensure that reviews are performed consistently across an organisation.

• The Model promotes continuous improvement. The review process can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. Most organisations keep reviews simple to start with. Often they return, perhaps after a year, and carry out a more detailed look. Reviews will then be carried out on a regular basis. Although it is not necessary to score the reviews, scores do provide an indicator of progress. Over the years, Cheshire Social Services have used the Excellence Model to develop their approach and achieve high levels of customer satisfaction.

• Use of the Excellence Model is also very effective in engaging staff in the process. Once they have been involved with a review they are keen to be involved in the resulting developments. The Economic Development Department of Portsmouth Council used the Excellence Model for a review last year. Staff had reservations initially but soon became enthusiastic about the review and implementing the changes stemming from their findings.
  
  

There are good practical examples of how the Excellence Model can be used to help deliver Best Value. Devon was the first local authority to use the Excellence Model and is now basing its corporate strategy for Best Value around use of the Model. In the Eastern Region, several authorities have similarly adopted the Excellence Model at the strategic level, notably King’s Lynn & Norfolk, Mid Suffolk and Essex County Council.

Charter Mark has been growing among local authorities over the years. Of the 1669 current holders, some 600 of them come from local authorities. Recently, the growth has been particularly noticeable as Charter Mark stresses many of the themes of Best Value:

• Consultation with users and staff is a key criterion of Charter Mark. Consultation is also central to Best Value reviews. For example, Leicester City Council Sports are using information technology to increase communication with the public. They hold regular customer consultation forums and act on suggestions given by users and non-users to increase opportunities to participate.

• Charter Mark also looks closely at the provision of suitable complaints procedures. In South Norfolk for example the refuse collection and recycling – another recent Charter Mark winner - have a well-publicised complaints procedure. They also use computer logging to improve handling of complaints.
  
• Charter Mark also stresses the need to use the customer feedback that is received. The Thomas Mills High School is a good example here in Suffolk. Using the feedback it has received has helped it to improve its reporting system and develop unique school charters.
  
• Setting clear standards and publishing performance results is another Charter Mark criterion. Cambridge City Council Homes have service guarantees to let the customers know what standards they can expect.

These are monitored and reviewed through surveys, mystery shoppers and reviews of complaints.

• Charter Mark also stresses the need to use resources effectively.
  
  
• Working with others is another important Charter Mark criterion. Cambridge Park and Ride is partnership between the City Council, the County Council, and Stagecoach. It provides a frequent and fast service to and from four free car parks, positioned on the main routes into the City.

• Finally, providing user satisfaction is another important element of gaining a Charter Mark Award. Braintree District Council Planning Services are a good example. A recent third-time winner, they were keen to stress that they took particular care to provide services that were geared to the specific needs of users.

Clearly those parts of authorities that have Charter Mark will be well placed to meet the appropriate aspects of Best Value. And we have evidence that this works – from the Best Value pilots and from others. For example Wycombe District Council have been exponents of quality schemes, particularly Charter Mark, for many years. They are using accreditation as a key element for delivery of Best Value.

And much nearer, Suffolk Constabulary is one of the best performing police forces in the country, costing less to run per head of population than most other forces. They have enhanced their consultation procedures by using interactive IT to gather views – for which they have been awarded Beacon Funding.

Investors in People

The most recent survey also shows that local authorities continue to have extensive involvement with Investors in People. It is useful in:

• Raising awareness among staff of Best Value.
• Improving internal communications and staff management.
• And helping authorities to achieve their corporate objectives through training and development of their staff.

 Portsmouth City Council have again been prominent. Those departments which have achieved the Investors in People Standard have identified major benefits that will feed through into their Best Value programme. In addition, they have found that Investors in People has ensured that Best Value remains prominent in staff minds.

Suffolk County Council, in conjunction with the Cabinet Office, is piloting the concept of ‘learning laboratories’ in local government. The aim of this project is to engage front-line staff in the drive to improve public services.

ISO 9000 has been widely used in authorities for many years. In particular, it has been used by Direct Service Organisations to gain a competitive edge in difficult markets.

And it also fits well with Best Value. ISO 9000 focuses on processes but it is relevant to Best Value in three particular ways:

• It helps improve the responsiveness of organisations;

• It helps significantly to improve the efficiency of activities; and
  
  
• It is an important tool in identifying and satisfying customer requirements.

Those authorities that have been using ISO 9000 successfully will be better placed to deliver Best Value. Local authorities in your region that have adopted ISO 9000 successfully include:

• Broadland – who have been using it for example to help their building control, finance and development areas;
  
  
• St Edmundsbury – who have used it to improve systems within environmental, housing benefit, leisure and finance departments; and
  
  
• Suffolk – where ISO 9000 has been effective in areas such as engineering, trading standards, surveying and street care.

I am sure that all authorities - to some extent or another – are doing good work on raising quality. In quoting examples today, I am not seeking to put anyone on a pedestal. I have sought examples that show how quality schemes are already working for organisations like your own. These authorities have found quality schemes a great help in developing their framework for Best Value.

It is this message on quality schemes and Best Value that I want you to take back to your authorities. And to help you spread the word, we have produced this guide in conjunction with DETR and the Improvement and Development Agency.

You should all have copies in your delegate pack today. In addition, six copies will be going to every authority.

Best Practice

We are all committed to quality and continuous improvement – particularly in delivering public services. We need, then, to keep pace with change. This is particularly important in the public sector – our customers often cannot go elsewhere. The best public sector organisations innovate and improve. All of us must strive to do things better. Spreading best practice is one way.

We have a number of different ways of doing this:

• We have developed within the Cabinet Office website a dedicated area looking at best practice. It already has over 500 examples from across the whole public sector, many from local government.

• We are supporting existing networks to help spread good ideas. Some of you will know of the East Anglian Quality Network. This is just one of 24 regionally-based networks that have much to offer. Their workshops, newsletters and wider networking opportunities provide another way of spreading best practice.
  
  
• In September last year I launched the TNT Modernising Government Partnership Awards. The awards are based on the partnership elements of the Excellence Model. We designed the Awards around the Model so as not to present you with yet another initiative.

• Beacon schemes are another way of spreading best practice stemming from the use of quality schemes in the public sector. We now have a variety of beacon schemes, including Beacon Councils. I know that the selection of Beacon Councils takes into consideration – among many other aspects – the use of quality schemes like Charter Mark.

Successful examples of the use of quality schemes can be found throughout local government. Some examples are given in the new Guide. Others are available on the Cabinet Office best practice website. All these organisations are willing to talk to you and share their experiences.

Recognising that it can be done is the first. Having a reason to do it is the next. And I have given you three good reasons to take away with you:

• Adopting any of these schemes will improve the quality of your services to your customers. Good enough reason in itself.
  
  
• Using these schemes will also help you to deliver Best Value – something I know that is in the forefront of your minds.

• And in doing the first two, you will be helping the wider public sector – and me in particular – to deliver the Government’s modernising agenda.

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