Foreword By the Minister of State, Cabinet Office
This Government is committed to making real and lasting improvements to our
public services. And to bringing those services closer to the people who use
them. The Modernising Government White Paper that we published in March 1999 set
out our vision of the modern public services Britain needs if it is to thrive in
the new millennium, and we are determined to make that vision a reality.
Transparency is important, and we support the idea that each area of public
service should have a charter setting out the standard of service that users can
expect. The process of drawing up or revising a charter offers an organisation
the opportunity to actively involve staff and users in discussions about its
services; to ensure that it has mechanisms in place to support continuous
improvement, for example by providing contact points for comments or complaints,
and procedures to record the information gained; to consider the scope for
closer working with related service providers; and to establish how its
standards and commitment to quality might best be communicated to the public at
large.
But it is essential that charters are useful and accessible. They are of
little use if they are vague or incomprehensible, or focus on things that users
consider irrelevant or unimportant. That is why in 1998 we produced a guide to
preparing national charters to help organisations wishing to introduce a charter
or review an existing one. This edition has been updated to reflect both the
challenges set out in the Modernising Government White Paper, and the knowledge
that we have gained in the last two years as more and more public sector
organisations have developed charters. Charters are a valuable tool for
improving services. We hope that this guide will improve the quality of charters
that cover national services, and make them more meaningful to the millions who
use them.
Ian McCartney.
Contents
Flowchart
Chapter 1 – Introduction
Chapter 2 – A national charter
Chapter 3 – Getting Started
Chapter 4 – Consulting and involving people
Chapter 5 – 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 charters
Annex A – Summary checklist
Annex B – Arrangements for clearance
Annex C – Further information – publications
Annex D – Contact numbers and addresses
Annex E – Charter Mark
Flowchart
Plan the development of your charter Get support from Ministers and
senior managers, decide who will produce your charter and the resources needed.
Build a partnership with users, staff and other service providers
Produce a plan for taking the work forward. Tell users, staff and other
providers that you intend to develop a charter and consider with them how they
will be involved.
Collect relevant information Establish what aspects of your service
matter most to users from available information and by asking them.
Circulate draft charter Produce a draft charter to show users,
potential users, staff and other organisations, and decide how to incorporate
their views.
Revise draft charter Incorporate comments, and tell users and staff
about the changes you made as a result.
Further consultation if necessary
Launch and publicise your charter Finalise the text. Clear internally
and with other departments and organisations as necessary. Ensure your staff are
ready for the launch.
Distribute your charter Get your charter to as many users and
potential users as you can, and make sure everyone in your organisation has
access to a copy.
Regularly monitor your charter Monitor performance against standards,
and regularly publish performance information. Check to ensure the information
in your charter is up to date.
Review your charter Review your charter involving users, potential
users, staff and other stakeholders.
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