§ 37. Mrs. Angela KnightTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what action is being taken to improve the quality of local authority services.
§ Mr. CurryAs part of the citizens charter initiative, local authorities are required, starting this year, to publish details of their performance against a wide range of performance indicators. For the first time, citizens will be able to make effective judgments about the quality of services provided by their local council compared to other local authorities of a similar background, and over successive years. Many local authority services are also subject to compulsory competitive tendering. This has led to better services at lower costs, and CCT is now being extended to a wide range of further services, including housing management, legal, finance, IT, personnel, architectural, engineering and property management services.