TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING
SUMMER SCHOOL 2000
UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS
Divisional Manager, Planning and Traffic
Wyre Borough Council
CHARTER MARK
AND BEYOND:
TALES FROM THE
COUNTRY
Wyre Borough Council Development Control and Administration were first time winners of the Charter Mark award in 1998. We were one of only 16 similar services to meet the standards in that year and achieved it despite what appeared to be an insurmountable problem - our poor 8-week performance. In 1996/97 only 48% of applications were determined within the time period and in 1997/98 this figure was still only 54%. I began work at Wyre in August 1998, when we were awaiting a visit from the assessor. I was pessimistic about how we would perform because of the slow speed of determining applications. This was the second attempt to achieve Charter Mark and I was concerned about the potential effect of a second failure on staff morale and public perception of the service.
I need not have worried. The teams had been working very hard since initial failure in
1996, and whilst speed of service is important, there are other factors which
swung the balance in our favour. The
biggest factor going for us was our friendly and customer focussed service.
Charter Mark is the Government’s award for public
sector organisations which provide an excellent service to the public. It is a sign of quality and shows that your
organisation puts its users first.
Charter Mark is a major component of the Government’s drive to modernise
public services. The award is open not
just to local authorities – it applies to all public services including
doctors, dentists and voluntary services.
In February 2000 there were 1669 holders of Charter Mark. It is difficult to determine how many of
these provide planning services because of the way in which details of winners
are presented. A list of past winners
is available on the web site via www.cabinet:office.gov.uk.
In 1999 there were 541 first time winners and 41% of these came from local authorities. Less than half of all applicants are successful. The award lasts for 3 years and the time between assessments needs to be spent addressing the feedback from the assessor, and achieving continuous improvement of service delivery to demonstrate compliance with the criteria. At present it is free to apply for Charter Mark. The application is not complicated. It consists of the application form, a summary stating why you think you deserve the award, information about your organisation, ten pages covering the ten criteria and one box file containing the supporting evidence. For anyone who has completed an NVQ this should prove easy. The difficult part is getting the service to a standard where you can deliver the evidence.
To achieve Charter Mark we addressed nine criteria
designed to measure and improve our service.
These were: -
1) Standards. We set targets for our 8-week performance and published standards in our community, strategic, committee policy and service unit plans. We published these in a free newspaper, ‘Wyre Voice’, and on our noticeboard. We also set telephone answering and letter answering targets, and monitored our performance. Standards were published in our Service Standards Handbook and Commitment to Customers Handbook.
2) Information and openness. In addition to the Service Standards Handbook and Wyre Voice, we published an A to Z of Council Services, including a separate guide for the elderly, leaflets and local planning guidance and an index of available publications. Some of the guidance has been Crystal marked and staff training on plain English has taken place.
3) Consultation and choice. We have set up an Agents focus group, and
Parish Council forum. Before carrying
out alterations to our reception area we consulted disabled groups. Various changes to service have resulted
from consultation.
4) Courtesy and helpfulness. Staff have attended customer service
training, and staff performance is assessed annually. Personal development plans address performance weaknesses. We wear identity badges and the
administrative staff wear uniforms.
Photographs of staff are displayed in reception. Customer surveys showed a consistently high
level of satisfaction with service and our staff.
5) Putting things right. We have a published complaints policy. The content of complaints and the outcome of
investigations are published.
6) Value for money. We looked at the cost of the service and compared this against the family group provided by the Audit Commission. We also looked at the number of staff and the average length of time to determine an application against the family group. We asked for views from respondents on value for money. Staff focus groups produced suggestions for savings, which were implemented.
7) User satisfaction. Customer surveys carried out in reception
and sent out to users showed a high level of satisfaction. Concerns have been recognised and addressed.
8) Measurable improvements. Many improvements were introduced as a
result of the Charter Mark assessment process after listening to customers and
staff and through keeping abreast with good practice.
9) Planned innovation. As a result of Charter Mark we decided to
move towards implementing an ISO9002 quality management system for processing
planning applications. We propose to
conduct a benchmarking exercise with
another organisation recognised as best in class, and have initiated a quality
improvement programme. This has
included producing a newsletter, carrying out a review of opening hours,
investigating setting up planning surgeries and amending our planning
application forms.
The chartermark criteria
were amended for 2000 as follows:-
1) Set standards;
2) Be open and provide full information;
3) Consult and involve;
4) Encourage access and the promotion of choice;
5) Treat all fairly;
6) Put things right when they go wrong;
7) Use resources effectively;
8) Innovate and improve;
9) Work with other providers; and
10) Provide user satisfaction.
Our re-submission in 2001 will need to address these new criteria, especially how we have worked in partnership with others.
We were given a feedback report by the assessor so that we could address those areas where some change and improvement was thought to be necessary to bring us into line with best practice. Suggestions were made in relation to each criterion. In particular it was suggested that we examine our performance against the DETR requirements and consider measures to enable us to meet all our standards. We have done this and our performance has improved dramatically as a result of a raft of measures. He suggested publishing trends regarding complaints and setting up a system for reviewing our customer care policy every year. We now regularly publish information about complaints on our notice board and publicise our complaints policy. He suggested producing a simple guide to the development control and administration budget. This has been a difficult area to address because the finances of development control and administration were not separately coded. However, as a result of Best Value, and the re-organisation of Planning and Engineering it will be much easier to account for individual services. It was also suggested that we seek alternative ways of getting information on user satisfaction. We are looking at the questionnaire produced for Best Value by DETR and considering whether to start using this in advance of our formal Service Review.
The assessor also suggested that activities should be based on a detailed business plan showing timescales, action officers, costs, savings, benefits and success criteria. A Business Plan has been produced for 2000/2001 to guide service delivery and improvement. Innovations promised are being progressed - including working towards an ISO9002 Quality Management System. There is anticipated to be slippage in our timescale for achieving the award. How this will affect our chances on re-submission is unclear. However, what is apparent is that the continuous improvement ethos generated by Charter Mark continues. We are continuing with the improvements originally generated by our submission. A quick tally of new initiatives included over 40 identifiable improvements to service in addition to those originally introduced for Charter Mark. The original initiatives have been improved in the light of experience.
Development Control is in Year 2 for a Best Value
Service Review at Wyre and this will link in with re-assessment for Charter
Mark during 2001. DETR published a
‘Guide to Quality schemes and Best Value’ in February 2000. The document demonstrates the detailed links
between Charter Mark, the Excellence Model, Investors in People and ISO 9000
and shows how these awards can be adopted in support of Best Value. Best Value addresses the delivery of
services to set standards by the most economic, efficient and effective means
available. The award can help to demonstrate how an authority has consulted and
listened to its customers to set the standards. Whilst the successful implementation of any of the schemes will
not deliver Best Value they can all help its achievement.
The benefits of the award are clear. The assessment process has allowed the
service to open up procedures to scrutiny and has provided the initiative to
consult and involve users on new standards and services. I am particularly pleased with the way that
the various forums have been expanded and how communication has improved over
the last two years. Recently, as a
result of carrying out a survey of Parish Councils and discussing the results
we found that there was a desire to communicate via the internet, but that
Parishes were held back by lack of resources.
The Economic Development Officer has found a charitable supplier of
re-conditioned PCs, which we hope, will help.
One Parish now e-mails consultation responses.
Our aim is not only to improve service delivery but
also to improve the overall quality of development. I believe that getting processes right is part of the proper
control of development and that the system needs to be seen to be fair, open
and operated in a courteous manner. We
do not always get it right but our systems help to ensure consistency, and if a
complaint is received we consider what it contains and act to improve if
necessary.
When Charter Mark is awarded there is a
presention with a trophy and a certificate. You get the right to use the logo
on letters and documents. Items such as
pens, badges, scarves and ties can also be purchased. You also get free an additional avenue for customer complaint –
via the cabinet office. Our only such
complaint was received in July 2000.
The complainant had already exhausted the ombudsman to the extent that
the office had terminated correspondence.
We had received over 40 letters from the complainant.
The award will give your team recognition, will help to improve staff morale and will help in your Best Value service review. Winning Charter Mark was a big achievement for the team. Staff received personal thank you letters, the certificate was mounted on the wall, and pens and badges were provided. For certain members of staff, there was an opportunity to attend the awards ceremony and to have their photograph appear in the paper. A civic buffet was arranged for team members and we ate a Charter Mark cake. However we are not sitting on our laurels. We have continued with the original initiatives and strive always to improve our performance. We can hold our heads up amongst others within our family group and other services in Lancashire. If we are to compete with others under Best Value then the process stands us in good stead.
Charter Mark is an achievable aim. Even with poor performance against national
indicators it is still worthwhile going for the award. You can follow the
examples set by past winners. You don’t
need to re-invent the wheel. Just going
for Charter Mark shows that you are committed to customer focussed
quality. It gives you a clear goal and
can act as an effective tool for continuous improvement, which you can
incorporate with other quality initiatives to achieve Best Value. So in the new Millennium, take the quality
route and seek the Charter Mark award for excellence in public service.