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How to draw up a local charter

Contents

Flowchart
What local services say...
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - A local charter
Chapter 3 - Getting started
Chapter 4 - Consulting and involving people
Chapter 5 - Local charter standards
Chapter 6 - Putting things right
Chapter 7 - Working with other service providers
Chapter 8 - Format and design
Chapter 9 - Publicity and distribution
Chapter 10 - Monitoring and reviewing of local charters
Annex A - Summary checklist for producing a local charter
Annex B - Local charter contacts
Annex C - Further information and publications
Annex D - Charter Mark

Annex A Summary checklist for producing a Local Charter

Getting started – key points

plan ahead
identify who uses your service and others with an interest (eg other local service providers), and decide how best to involve them
consider how best to involve your staff
get commitment from top management
decide who will lead on the work
work out how much it will cost and how long it will take
announce your intention to produce/review your charter
collect information on what aspects of your service matter most to users

Consulting and involving people - key points

think about how you will consult and involve users and potential users
choose methods that are suitable for your purposes and convenient for your users
allow plenty of time for the consultation decide who will take the lead
make sure the people you consult include people from different areas and age groups, and different ethnic and social backgrounds.
identify and clearly communicate the issues you can have an effect on and improve, and those that you cannot
consult and involve people at all levels in your organisation
consult other local service providers with whom you work
decide how you will give feedback to users and staff

Local charter standards - key points

focus on key issues of interest to users
look at the service from the user’s viewpoint and avoid management targets
set standards that are challenging but realistic
use plain language
make sure standards are measurable
have systems in place to monitor standards regularly
publish performance against standards regularly review the effectiveness of standards, and update them

Putting things right – key points

tell people what will happen if you do not meet your standards
say you welcome comments and complaints, and act on them
set out clearly how to complain, who to, and how long it will take to resolve
promise a fair investigation and tell people if they can complain to an independent reviewer or ombudsman
say you will learn from complaints made

Working with other service providers – key points

work closely with other providers to improve service delivery and help users identify and contact related service providers.

Format and design - key points

make your charter short and punchy
use plain language
use a reasonable size typeface
use just one font in each block of text
consider producing versions in other languages and formats, and advertise their availability to users
make the information available on the Internet if possible
print the publication date clearly on the cover

Publicity and distribution – key points

think about how to publicise and distribute your charter and its contents
choose methods that will reach as many users as possible, including those who have a problem with your service
decide how many copies of your charter you will need
work out how much staff time and cost will be involved
decide how to launch the charter to people who work in your organisation

Measuring and monitoring local charters – key points

think about how you will measure the usefulness of your charter
decide how you will review it, and what mechanisms you will use
decide how and where you will publish the outcome
make clear what action you will take as a result of the review

Overall

does your charter follow the principles set out in this guide?

Annex B Local Charter contacts

Over 10,000 service providers have already produced a local charter. Some of these have offered to share their experiences and expertise.

Local authorities

Belfast City Council
Alan McFerran
Head of Building Control
Health and Environmental Services Department
City Hall
Belfast BT1 5GS

Phone: 01232 320202.
Fax: 01232 438805.

Cambridgeshire County Council
Julian Bowrey
Policy Team
Shire Hall
Castle Hill
Cambridge CB3 0AP

Phone: 01223 717225.
Fax: 01223 717657.

East Hertfordshire District Council
Alison Lock
Public Relations Manager
Wallfields
Pegs Lane
Hertford SG13 8EQ

Phone: 01279 655261 ext. 449.
Fax: 01992 505710.

Gloucestershire County Council
Ian Macadie
Service Development Manager
Corporate Services Department
Shire Hall
Gloucestershire GL1 2TG

Phone: 01452 425069.
Fax: 01452 426958.

Hertfordshire County Council
Seth Brook
Head of Communications
Environment Department
County Hall
Hertford SG13 8DN

Phone: 01992 588600.
Fax: 01992 555202.

Kent County Council
Arts & Libraries
Barbara Jennings
Senior Policy and Communication Officer
Springfield
Maidstone
Kent ME14 2LH

Phone: 01622 671411.
Fax: 01622 690897.

Leicester City Council
John London
Management Consultant
New Walk Centre
Welford Place
Leicester LE1 6ZG

Phone: 0116 2549922.
Fax: 0116 2553809.

Northamptonshire County Council
Rosemary Luxford
Quality Assurance Manager
Environment Directorate
PO Box 163
County Hall
Northampton NN1 1AX

Phone: 01604 237075.
Fax: 01604 237675.

Peterborough City Council
Matthew Cross
Head of Policy
Town Hall
Peterborough PE1 1PJ

Phone: 01733 452531.
Fax: 01733 452537.

Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead
Michael Coughlin
Director of Leisure & Cultural Services
4th Floor Berkshire House
Queen Street
Maidenhead
Berks SL6 1NF

Phone: 01628 796443.
Fax: 01628 796121.

Suffolk County Council
Tamasin Davies
St Paul’s House
Rope Walk
Ipswich
Suffolk IP4 1LH

Phone: 01473 583409.
Fax: 01473 583402.

Waltham Forest Council
Devora Wolfson
Principal Planning & Service
Development Manager
Social Services Department
313 Billet Road
Walthamstow
London E17 5PX

Phone: 020 8531 3221.
Fax: 020 8503 3521.

Wandsworth Borough Council
Lance Garrett
Director of Leisure & Amenity Services
Leisure & Amenity Services Department
The Town Hall
Wandsworth High Street
London SW18 2PU

Phone: 020 8871 6353.
Fax: 020 8871 8349.

Wolverhampton Health Authority
Maggie Morgan Cooke, Quality Manager/Fiona Jackson, Joint Planning Officer
Coniston House
Chapel Ash
Wolverhampton
WV3 OXE

Phone: 01902 444861 or 01902 556556.
Fax: 01902 444877.

Law and order

Hampshire Magistrates’ Court
Helen Bowers
Control Officer Project Leader
The Law Courts
Winston Churchill Avenue
 Portsmouth PO1 2DQ

Phone: 01705 819421.
Fax: 01705 293085.

Leicestershire Constabulary
Joanna Compton
Research Unit Corporate Development Department
Force HQ
St Johns
Narborough
Leicester LE99 1AZ

Phone: 0116 2482103.
Fax: 0116 2482125.

Norfolk Constabulary
Alan Ogg
Police Headquarters
Martineau Lane
Norwich NR1 2DJ

Phone: 01603 276150.
Fax: 01603 276260.

Northamptonshire Magistrates’ Courts
Jeff Osborn
Quality of Service and Information Manager
Regent’s Pavillion
Summerhouse Road
Moulton Park
Northampton NN3 6BJ

Phone: 01604 497087.
Fax: 01604 497010.

Suffolk Constabulary
Chris Banthorpe
Service Development Officer
Force Headquarters
Martlesham Heath
Ipswich IP5 7QS

Phone: 01473 613513.
Fax: 01473 611269.

Fire Services

Mid and West Wales Fire Brigade
Margaret Rees
Fire Brigade Headquarters
Ucheldir College Road
Carmathen
Dfyed SA31 3EF

Phone: 01267 221444.
Fax: 01267 238329.

West Sussex Fire Brigade
Graham Curtis
Fire Brigade Headquarters
Northgate
Chichester
West Sussex PO19 1BD

Phone: 01243 752411.
Fax: 01243 780416.

Transport

Anglia Railways
Jonathan Denby
Corporate Affairs Manager
15-25 Artillery Lane
London E1 7HA

Phone: 020 7465 9009.
Fax: 020 7465 9053.

Centro Regional Railways
Malcolm Cantello
Public Affairs Manager
16 Summer Lane
Birmingham B19 3SD

Phone: 0121 214 7401.
Fax: 0121 214 7033.

Tyne and Wear Metro
Andy Bairstow
Marketing Director
Cuthbert House
All Saints
Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 2DA

Phone: 0191 203 3251.
Fax: 0191 203 3304.

Health

Ferrybridge Medical Centre
Alan Grimes
Practice/Fund Manager
8-10 High Street
Ferrybridge
West Yorkshire WF11 8NQ

Phone: 01977 672109.
Fax: 01977 671107.

Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust
Florinda Hall
Patient Liaison Manager
Royal Gwent Hospital
Newport
South Wales NP20 2UB

Phone: 01633 238027.
Fax: 01633 238957.

The Grove Medical Practice
Lucy Morris
Business Manager
Shirley Health Centre
Grove Road
Shirley
Southampton SO15 3UA

Phone: 01703 783611.
Fax: 01703 783156.

Northumbria Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Ken Dodd
Information and Development Manager
Ambulance Headquarters
Scotswood Road
Newcastle upon Tyne NE4 7BJ

Phone: 0191 273 1212.
Fax: 0191 273 7070.

The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust
Denise Carroll
Assistant Director of Quality
Quality Department
Prescot Street
Liverpool L7 8XP

Phone: 0151 706 2253.
Fax: 0151 706 2945.

Southampton Community Health Services NHS Trust
Colin Gibson
Tatchbury Mount
Calmore
Southampton SO40 2RZ

Phone: 01703 874027.
Fax: 01703 874181.

Wakefield and Pontefract 
Community Health NHS Trust
Ruth Unwin
Director of Public Affairs
3-5 St John’s North
Wakefield
West Yorkshire WF1 3QD

Phone: 01924 814985.
Fax: 01924 327021.

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