§ Mr. BarnesTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will introduce a charter for persons with autism in line with the charter adopted at the fourth Autism Europe Congress in May 1992; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Robert G. HughesThere are no plans to introduce a charter for persons with autism or any other disability. The citizens charter applies to all users of public services equally, including people with disabilities. Public services should be accessible to all those who need them, including persons with autism. To help improve the accessibility of public services the citizens charter unit published "The Citizen's Charter and People With Disabilities—A Checklist" in 1994. This checklist is to help public service organisations ensure that they take
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Mr. Robert G. HughesThe privatised utilities are judged against the same criteria as other public service providers. The criteria are:
- Standards—setting, monitoring and publication of explicit standards;
- Information and openness—full, accurate information, readily available in plain language;
- Choice and consultation—choice wherever possible, regular and systematic consultation with those who use services;
- Courtesy and helpfulness—courteous and helpful service, from public servants who will normally wear name badges;
- Putting things right—if things go wrong, an apology, a full explanation and a swift and effective remedy;
- Value for money—efficient and economic delivery of public services and independent validation of performance against standards;
- Customer satisfaction—evidence of measures in place which identify improvements and levels of customer satisfaction;
- Measurable improvements is the quality of service over the last two or more years—details of the improvements made with evidence that customers appreciate them; and
- An innovative enhancement to services without any extra cost to the taxpayer or consumer—details of planned innovations and evidence that they reflect the concerns of customers.