On 12 December 2006, Gosport Borough Council’s Environmental Health Services were reassessed for their Charter Mark Award and, on 2 January 2007, they were delighted to receive the news that they had once again proved successful.
The Charter Mark is the UK Government's national standard award for excellence in the public sector. It not only shows the public the continued best practice of the authority but helps everyone within the organisation focus on the customer and improving customer services.
The review was conducted by David White, OBE, of CMAS (Charter Mark Assessment Services), who accompanied officers on visits, met partners and checked all documentary evidence.
“At the heart of the Charter Mark criteria is the fundamental question - what does the customer expect or hope for from the services we offer,” said David Palmer, Head of Environmental Health Services at Gosport. “The simple fact is that none of us can be sure. We might think we are performing really well and are doing fine, but without regular consultation and feedback from users of our services – our customers - we couldn’t know that for sure. Their input has been of tremendous importance to us.”
The Council would like to thank those who helped out by making themselves available to Mr White for discussions on the organisation and their work practices, including Local Taxi Operator Martin Rossiter, Christie Fox of the Kings Head Public House and Sylvia Foster and Mary Campbell of Abbeyfield UK Gosport.
“We have been fortunate enough to hold a Charter Mark since January 2003 and this assessment was our opportunity to demonstrate our continued commitment to customers and our improvement to services,” added David.
Now, because of their continued success, a rolling programme arrangement has been implemented. The Council remain Certified until 2010 but must continue to demonstrate improvement and will continue to have annual reviews by assessors.
