The Six Service Standards for Central Government

Performance by the main central government departments and agencies over the period
1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998

The six service standards for central government (often known as the Whitehall Standards) came into effect on 1 April 1997. They are an important tool for improving the quality of central government services and reflect the Government’s commitment to openness and to reporting transparently on its performance. The policy statement ‘Service First - the new Charter programme’ confirmed that the six standards would be retained in their present form until 31 March 1999, when they will be reviewed and, if necessary, revised.

Standard 1: Answer letters quickly and clearly. Each department and agency will set a target for answering letters and will publish its performance against this target.

Standard 2: See people within 10 minutes of their appointment time.

Standard 3: Provide clear and straightforward information about services and at least one number for telephone enquiries to help you or to put you in touch with someone who can.

Standard 4: Consult users regularly about the service provided, and report on the results.

Standard 5: Have at least one complaints procedure for the services it provides, and send information about the procedure on request.

Standard 6: Do everything that is reasonably possible to make its services available to everyone, including people with disabilities.

The overall picture is mixed, although it should be noted that performance, in many cases, was affected by a significant increase in correspondence following last year’s General Election. We and departments will continue to monitor performance in the coming months, and will be striving for improvement.

All departments and agencies have set targets for responding to correspondence and will be publishing information on their performance, for instance in their departmental annual report. The table below summarises the performance of those departments and agencies that generally have most contact with the public. The information is not directly comparable as targets vary between departments (between 10 and 20 days), and some departments are only able to provide information on correspondence addressed to Ministers. In most cases performance has been based on a sample, although a few departments (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Cabinet Office (OPS), Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Customs and Excise, Department for Education and Employment, and the Department of Social Security headquarters) have monitored all correspondence. Departments and agencies can provide further information if required.

(1) Correspondence received between 1 November 1997 and 31 March 1998.

(2) Figures relate to correspondence addressed to Ministers.

(3) Correspondence addressed to Ministers, e-mailed to the MOD web site, and mail on defence issues received by other departments between 1 August 1997 and 31 March 1998.

(4) As a result of the large increase in correspondence after the General Election it was often impossible for letters to be passed to the answering division within 15 days. Consequently many parts of the Department have interpreted the target as being a response within 15 days of receipt in the responding division, rather than from when the letter was actually received in the Department.

(5) The number of letters received by the Central Correspondence Unit from members of the public, and the percentage of letters meeting the target, were taken from a statistically monitored sample.

(6) Includes all Home Office agencies except the Prison Service.

(7) This is the number of items of post received by the Department’s network of offices.

(8) Holding replies are not counted in order to maximise the incentive to issue full replies quickly.

(9) Includes all Northern Ireland departments’ agencies except the Prison Service, and the CSA(NI) and SSA(NI) whose performance is shown separately.

(10) In addition 17,151 letters were received by DSS HQ but were passed on to the Department’s executive agencies for reply and are therefore included in the agencies’ return.

(11) Total volumes are not recorded. Performance is calculated through a sample, which in 1997/8 was just under 25,000 letters.

(12) Total volume not known. The performance against target was calculated by evaluating 4,000 letters sent out by a research company. In the same period some 780 letters were received addressed to Ministers - 80.6% of these were cleared within 15 days.

Many central departments have relatively little direct face-to-face contact with members of the public. As a result, information was only requested from a small number of departments and agencies. Responses were received from Cabinet Office(OPS), Customs and Excise, Department for Education and Employment, Department of Health, Northern Ireland Departments, Welsh Office, Child Support Agency, Employment Service, and the Social Security Agency (Northern Ireland). These showed that where appointments were made, people were generally seen on time (actual performance varied between 89-100%).

All the departments and agencies listed in the table under Standard 1 have confirmed that they had at least one telephone enquiry point in place. Most have also produced charters setting out the service they provide and the standards users can expect to receive. Set out below are some other examples of how they are providing information to their users:

The Benefits Agency (BA) places advertisements in telephone directories. Information includes details of all BA offices in the area, plus information on national helplines eg Family Credit Helpline, Benefit Enquiry Line, Pensions Direct Helpline, and Social Security Abroad Helpline. The vast majority of BA offices have direct dial facilities enabling users to make direct contact with a particular extension. A wide range of benefits literature is available in 12 minority languages, in Braille, and on audio and video tape.

The Social Security Agency in Northern Ireland displays comparative performance tables in local offices so users can see how the office is doing in handling claims, and how it compares with neighbouring offices.

The Ministry of Defence has set up a new website on Gulf veterans illnesses to address veterans’ concerns, and to provide access to MOD-funded research and reports on the issue.

The Government Office for London produces twice a year a directory of services which is sent to contacts and partner organisations. It includes details of the Office’s service standards and complaints procedure.

The Employment Service has been piloting ‘Jobcentre Direct’ in four parts of the country. This enables jobseekers and employers to contact the Jobcentre in the evenings and at weekends through localised call centres.

The Department for Education and Employment has set up a large and varied website. It contains information of interest to parents, schools, jobseekers, employers and others. For example, one section allows users to click on any part of a map to bring up information on the careers service in that part of the country. Often there is a direct e-mail link to individual careers services for further information. The Department has also introduced a single telephone number and switchboard covering all its sites, and a single mailing house for its publications.

The Scottish Office Enquiry Line number is widely advertised and appears on all post franked by the Scottish Office.

Standard 4 : Consult users regularly about the service provided, and report on the results.

Departments and agencies regularly consult users on matters affecting service delivery. Some examples of recent initiatives are given below, including information on changes that have occurred as a result:

The Cabinet Office is setting up a People’s Panel of some 5,000 people comprising a representative sample of the population, including those groups often excluded from traditional forms of consultation. The Panel will be used to establish what people want from public services and how they might be improved. The results of research undertaken with the Panel will be published.

The Benefits Agency (BA) holds regular customer forums to listen and respond to national and regional organisations’ concerns. These provide valuable feedback and have resulted in positive improvements, such as better awareness training for BA staff about people with special needs, and amendments to legislation affecting people from abroad.

The Contributions Agency has a national consultation panel and 12 regional panels which meet quarterly to help the Agency keep in touch with its customers. A special liaison group has been set up for pension providers.

The Inland Revenue worked in partnership with the public to develop the new self-assessment tax return. Volunteers were invited to complete the form in draft and their comments were incorporated into later revisions. The approach was so successful it will be repeated with other forms.

The Rate Collection Agency (NI) consulted over 9,000 domestic customers through a customer survey, and over 2,150 people responded. The results are being used to raise standards still further. The Agency also examines on a monthly basis the content of all complaints received from the public to identify any common themes and areas for improvement. This has resulted in action to improve both telephone and correspondence handling.

The Welsh Office has used sign language interpreters at a public consultation meeting, and issued consultation documents in Braille and large print for the visually impaired.

In addition to national and local customer surveys, many Jobcentres run quarterly focus groups to discuss local issues, or carry out managers’ ‘surgeries’.

As a result of feedback from users, Historic Scotland introduced at Edinburgh Castle free audio guides in a range of languages. This initiative contributed to 94% of respondents to a customer survey commenting that the amount of information provided at the Castle was about right.

All departments and agencies questioned, with the exception of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (who were finalising theirs), and the Department of Social Security Headquarters (who were reviewing all their correspondence arrangements, including the handling of complaints), had complaints procedures in place.

Departments and agencies are committed to making their services accessible to all sections of the community. Some initiatives are described below:

The Welsh Office routinely publishes documents in both English and Welsh. Simultaneous translation facilities are provided for meetings, and replies to letters are sent in Welsh or English or bilingually, depending on the correspondent’s preference.

The Benefits Agency (BA) has developed a basic skills help card for use by people who need special help with reading, writing, numbers or communication. Home visits are available for people who cannot get into the office and whose query cannot be resolved by telephone or in writing.

The Child Support Agency is recruiting staff on flexible working patterns to provide longer opening hours. Interpreters can be arranged for people who do not speak English.

The Fisheries Division of the Department for Agriculture in Northern Ireland provides a low cost disabled fishing permit and works closely with the River’s Agency to provide access to angling stands for the disabled.

The Traveller’s Charter produced by Customs and Excise has been translated into 23 different languages to address a need identified in a survey of users.

A Report by the Cabinet Office