§ 36. Sir Michael NeubertTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what steps he is planning to take to extend charter principles throughout the public service.
§ Mr. Robert JacksonWe intend to apply citizens charter principles throughout the public service and to ensure that those principles are put into practice and developed. In time, standards of service and value for money will be improved still further.
§ Sir Michael NeubertIs not it encouraging that a number of charter-style initiatives have been taken by private sector companies which, with the work that my right hon. Friend is undertaking in government, promise a 19 revolution in service to the consumer? Would it be too novel to establish the principle that public servants are there to serve the public and that they should accord the public the same respect that any employee would be expected to accord his employer?
§ Mr. JacksonI agree with my hon. Friend's second point; so, I am sure, do almost all public servants. Like my hon. Friend, I am gratified by the way in which charter principles have been adopted by firms in the private sector. Those principles are particularly appropriate where competition and customer choice are neccesarily limited, as they are in the public services. That is why we welcome the growing emphasis on defining more precisely what customers want, setting out specific targets for performance, monitoring performance against them and providing effective machinery for complaint and redress.