We asked:
Does the Charter cover the right areas? Are
there other areas where it should apply?
Reactions:
Most people felt that the Charter covered the right areas
and should continue to apply wherever there is little or no
choice for the user.
Some felt that the Charter
should be extended to the voluntary sector where services
were being provided on behalf of the public sector. There
were, however, some concerns over whether small charitable
organisations would have the resources to comply with the
Charter principles and should face the same scrutiny as
public sector organisations.
There were mixed views as
to whether the privatised gas and electricity industries
should continue to be covered. Some thought they should not.
Others argued that they and the remaining publicly-owned
utilities should be included because of their continuing
monopoly position.
Our response:
We believe the principle should remain that, whenever
users have little or no choice, there should be an external
incentive for organisations to provide excellent services.
Service First will therefore continue to apply across the
public sector and to those privatised utilities where a
monopoly element remains, and it should apply whether
services are delivered direct or through contractors. We
would welcome any move by the voluntary sector to adopt the
principles and/ or to publish their own charters. But we do not
propose to extend the programme formally to cover
organisations in the voluntary sector.
We asked:
Are the current eligibility criteria for Charter
Mark right or should the scheme be extended? For instance,
should voluntary organisations providing services on behalf
of the public sector be allowed to
participate?
Reactions
As with the general Charter programme, many respondents
thought that voluntary organisations providing services on
behalf of the public sector should be allowed to
participate.
There were also suggestions
that other 'partners' such as private sector partners could
be included.
The Electricity Consumers
Committee and the Office of Electricity Regulation raised
the question of whether electricity companies should remain
eligible for Charter Mark once the electricity market had
been opened up to full competition.
Our response:
Voluntary sector organisations providing services under
contract to the public sector can already apply for Charter
Mark, as can any other contractor, in partnership with their
public sector contract manager. We have now extended the
Charter Mark eligibility criteria to cover those voluntary
sector hospitals, hospices and special schools that receive
over 75% or more of their income from public funds. We do
not propose to extend eligibility to the voluntary sector
more widely. This is because Charter Mark - as a tool to
encourage improvements in public service delivery - is
specifically designed to meet the requirements of the public
sector and would be unsuitable for many voluntary
organisations given the way they are organised and
structured.
We note the comments
made about the continuing eligibility of electricity
companies. As noted above, we believe the programme and the
Charter Mark award scheme should continue to apply equally
to these essential services while they retain some monopoly
elements. The electricity supply industry in Great Britain
will be opened to full competition during 1998, but will
remain subject to price controls until 2000, when
competition is expected to be fully established. We propose
that the last year in which electricity companies in Great
Britain should be eligible to apply for Charter Mark will
therefore be 1999, although successful applicants will be
able to retain their awards for the full three-year period.
Other utilities will remain eligible until such time as they
are subject to full competition.
We asked:
Should we update the six principles underlying the
Citizen's Charter? If so, what specific changes could be
made to the principles to improve the effectiveness of the
Charter programme? For example, should there be more
explicit reference to catering for disadvantaged groups, to
community involvement, or to pursuing environment-friendly
policies?
Reactions:
Most respondents thought that the six principles should be
updated. Many suggested broadening them to include
explicitly equal treatment and access for all. Some favoured
a reference to environmentally-friendly policies and
community involvement. Others wanted a reference to users'
responsibilities, and a link with other quality initiatives
such as Best Value and the Business Excellence
Model.
Our response:
We have developed nine new principles. These update and
extend the previous six principles. Four are new: promote
access and choice; treat all fairly; work with other
providers; and innovate and improve. Two - set
standards, and put things right - are largely unchanged.
Three - consult and involve, be open and provide full
information, and use resources effectively - have
significant changes in emphasis.
The Government is
committed to environmentally friendly policies.
Environmental issues will, therefore, be one of the factors
that providers will need to consider under the new principle
of using resources effectively. This principle also provides
a direct link to the Government's 'Best Value' initiative in
local government.
There is not a specific
reference to community involvement in the new principles.
But the principles support an increase in involvement of
people from all parts of the community in service delivery
issues. More specifically:
