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MPs seek public service guarantees

22/07/2008

Public service users deserve minimum standards across the board, MPs have said.

The influential public administration committee says creating a series of public service guarantees (PSG) would end the postcode lottery of differing standards seen across the country.

It says some areas already have minimum standards, like the 18-hour maximum limit on waiting for hospital treatment.

Introducing PSGs would reaffirm such commitments while introducing new ones, the report says. The right to respite care is one example offered.

"PSGs would put real power in the hands of public service users," committee chairman Tony Wright said.

"Everyone ought to know what standard of public service they should be getting. We want to see the guarantees introduced so that people are aware of their entitlements to public services, and able to claim them."

The report concentrates heavily on the legacy of the Citizen's Charter initiative, a 1991 initiative introduced by John Major's Conservative government.

"The initiative's underlying principles retain their validity nearly two decades on — not least the importance of putting the interests of public service users at the heart of public service provision," it notes.

"We believe this cardinal principle should continue to influence public service reform, and encourage the government to maintain the aims of the Citizen's Charter programme given their continuing relevance to public service delivery today."