CAB 24/00

1 February 2000

NEW MILLENNIUM HERALDS RECORD YEAR FOR CHARTER MARK

Police and ambulance services in Scotland, an infants school in Devon and a community hospital in Wales celebrated a spectacular start to the new Millennium today as winners of prestigious Charter Mark awards. A record number of Charter Mark winners - 789 in total - celebrated their win at an awards ceremony in London, securing their place as beacons of excellence for public service across the country. There are now 1669 current Charter Mark holders - the highest figure ever demonstrating a commitment to high standards of service which put the user first and a strong commitment to modernising public services.

In another first, the scheme has this year joined forces with ICL, the IT service company who are sponsoring the awards ceremony and also presented, 'The ICL Award for IT Innovation'. Also supporting the Charter Mark for the first time are charities, Help the Aged, Age Concern, and Save the Children Fund, all of whom are sponsoring special awards. Winners were presented with their awards by Dr Mo Mowlam at a special ceremony for 1999 winners in London today.

The 'ICL IT Innovation Award' goes to Gateshead Council Libraries Service, the organisation which has demonstrated the most innovative use of IT as part of their service delivery in achieving Charter Mark status. The 'Older People Charter Mark Award' is presented to London Borough of Ealing Residential Homes for Older People who has given the best service to older people, Age Concern and Help the Aged both donate #1,000 prize each to the winner. The new 'Save the Children Charter Mark Award' prize of #1,000 is awarded to Roundhay School, Leeds for its outstanding service to young people.

The Prime Minister said:

"Charter Mark is central to our modernising government agenda. It picks out excellence in our schools, hospitals, emergency services and across the whole range of public services.

"Today's winners can be proud of their efforts. They are leading the way in improving services for customers.

"It is important that everyone in the public services learn the lessons of these winners and constantly work to raise standards. That will help make the difference in delivering the high quality services that people have a right to expect."

Welcoming the continuing success of the Charter Mark awards, Dr Mo Mowlam, Cabinet Office Minister said:

"I would like to congratulate the large number of winners for the 1999 Charter Mark awards and pay tribute to the thousands of staff who contributed to their success.

"Charter Mark is the mark of excellence for public service organisations. It is central to our Modernising Government commitments to provide high quality public services which meet the needs of the customer. It is also encouraging to see that 63 winners have achieved Charter Mark for the third time in a row. This shows that not only have they been able to reach a high standard of service but that they have been able to keep that standard year on year to provide quality and consistency in the work that they do.

"Well done to you all!"

Keith Todd, Chief Executive of IT services company, ICL said:

"IT is integral to the delivery of the modernising government agenda, and ICL recognises this by sponsoring a special Charter Mark award for IT innovation. ICL works with the UK Government, both centrally and locally, to help harness the benefits of IT and make public services and information more accessible to citizens across the country. The Charter Mark awards are important in recognising efforts already being made to improve service delivery across all levels of Government."

There are a record number of first time winners this year - 541 in total. In addition there are 63 third time winners of Charter Mark. These are organisations which have continued to improve their service over a period of time. The majority of third time winners come from the local government category. The largest single category this year is local government with 326 winners. In all, over 41% of winners came from local government, 22% from Health, 12% from education and 11% from central government including executive agencies.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. For the first time, this year, the Charter Mark winners have been announced in two phases. The first phase winners were announced in August 1999. This new approach was made possible by a new rolling programme of assessment which means that organisations can apply at different times of the year.

2. To win a Charter Mark, organisations must demonstrate that they meet ten tough criteria: set standards of service; be open and provide full information; consult and involve; encourage access and the promotion of choice; treat all fairly; put things right when they go wrong; use resources effectively; innovate and improve; work with other providers and user satisfaction.

3. Charter Marks are awarded for three years, after which organisations must apply to renew their award. To win another Charter Mark, organisations must show real improvements in service.

4. Any public service providing a service direct to the public, which manages its own staff and budget can apply for a Charter Mark. Winners receive a trophy and a certificate and can use the Charter Mark logo on their stationery etc for three years. In August last year the eligibility criteria for the scheme was extended to include voluntary organisations who receive more than 10% of their income from public funding and also commercial organisations which are sub-contractors to the public sector can apply for Charter Mark.

5. An independent Charter Mark Judging Panel decides on the basis of detailed evidence who wins a Charter Mark. Members of the Panel are:

Baroness Perry (Chairman)

(President, Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge).

Rodney Bickerstaff (General Secretary of Unison);

Anne Galbraith (Member of Lord Chancellor's Council on Tribunals);

Angela Heylin (President of Charles Barker plc);

Peter Housden (Chief Executive Nottinghamshire Country Council);

Neil Johnson OBE (Chief Executive of RAC Holdings Ltd);

Stephen Locke (Director of Advertising and Sponsorship at the

Independent Television Commission);

James Palumbo (Chairman and CEO of Ministry of Sound);

Baroness Wilcox (former Chairman of the National Consumer

Council); and

Pat Killen (Chairman of the former Northern Ireland Citizen's

Charter Advisory Panel).

6. Charter Mark may be withdrawn by the judging panel if standards fall below the high quality expected of a Charter Mark holder.

7. For more details of ICL, Save the Children Fund, Age Concern and Help the Aged involvement and awards, please contact the following:

ICL: John Cheetham: 020 7 614 4528

SCF: Leigh Daynes: 020 7 716 2278

Age Concern: Katrina Webster: 020 8 765 7501

Help the Aged: Gill Ohlsen: 020 7 253 0253

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