HC Deb 14 December 1992 vol 216 cc18-9
28. Mr. Skinner

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what response he has had to the report on the citizens charter.

Mr. Waldegrave

We have had a very encouraging response to the citizens charter report.

Mr. Skinner

Instead of the Minister talking as his belly warms about things like charters, why does he not listen to the people who are really shouting out—the unemployed people who want a full employment charter and the people who do not have roofs over their heads who want a homeless charter so local authorities can build houses? Why does he not listen to the pensioners who are crying out for an extra £20 a week so that they can keep warm this winter? Those are the policies that the people out there are shouting for, not these tinpot charters.

Mr. Waldegrave

As the hon. Gentleman is, I suppose, the greatest partisan of lost causes in the House, I regard his attack on the charter as rather a compliment to it. The work to improve performance in local government and central Government to meet the needs of people is reinforced by the work that we are doing on the charters.

Mr. Mark Robinson

Is not the success of the citizens charter demonstrated by the interest taken in it by European Governments and also by the interest now being expressed in the United States?

Mr. Waldegrave

That is entirely right. As the recent conference that we held in London showed, there is tremendous international interest in the citizens charter principles. The president-elect of the new American Government has made it clear that he regards this kind of campaign, which is derided by the hon. Member for Bolsover (Mr. Skinner), as very important.

Mr. Matthew Taylor

The Minister has previously told me, and states again in the report, that he intends that customers should give a view about the quality of service that they are receiving and that customers should be heard in relation to how charters are being met. How does he intend to involve the customer in setting charters in future instead of consulting them only after charters have been set?

Mr. Waldegrave

The hon. Member makes a good point. We announced in the first report that we would be conducting regular surveys of customer needs. That is a useful first step. However, the principle that the hon. Member states is absolutely right. In every case the service provider should sets objectives and standards after consulting the public and users of that service very widely.