§ Mrs. GoldingTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) what plans he has to extend the Charter Mark Awards Scheme to those organisations not currently eligible for consideration under the scheme; [38744]
§ Mrs. GoldingTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what criteria organisations have to meet to be considered for inclusion in the Charter Mark Awards Scheme. [38743]
§ Mr. KilfoyleThe scheme is currently open to all public sector services that provide a service directly to members of the public. We have extended the scheme to cover other areas that receive a significant element of public funding, such as careers services, training and enterprise councils and registered housing associations.
Each year, we carry out a review of the current eligibility criteria for Charter Marks and I have recently considered whether eligibility should be extended to voluntary organisations and charities (and indeed private sector organisations). As a result, the 1998 scheme was extended to include independent schools, hospitals and hospices which are registered charities and receive at least 75 per cent. public funding. I have decided that, for the time being, our priority must be for the resources of the scheme to be focused on improving the quality of public sector organisations. However, I will continue to evaluate the comments of interested organisations as the scheme continues to develop and expand.