HC Deb 29 January 1998 vol 305 c330W
Mr. Corbett

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when he will reach a decision on the establishment of a panel for consulting people about pubic services; and if he will make a statement. [26914]

Dr. David Clark

I have today decided to set up a Panel to consult people about public services, and appointed MORI and the School of Public Policy at the University of Birmingham to set up and run it. The People's Panel will be used to find out what members of the public think about the services for which they pay for and use every day.

We want to put people first as we develop our Better Government programme to modernise public services. The Panel will be consulted on a range of matters relating to public services, such as service delivery, the use of IT, awareness of the Charter programme, and complaints handling procedures. We will make the results public.

This is a unique development, and one which underlines the Government's commitment to providing better government through listening to the views of people in all walks of life about their experiences of public services.