This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Promoting Excellence in Scotland guide
23/02/2004
The Executive today published the latest edition of the
Promoting Excellence in Scotland guide which details
examples of best practice with the aim of driving up
standards in the delivery of user-focused public
services.
These include
- Aberdeenshire Council Personnel Support Team
- Ability Centre Support Services, West Lothian
- Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary
- Edinburgh International Conference Centre
- West Fife Community Drugs Team
- Turning Point Initiative, Glasgow
- Renfrewshire Council
- Comhairle nan Eilan Siar housing department
At the 2004 Quality Network conference in Glasgow,
Public Services Minister Andy Kerr said:
"The modernising public sector the Scottish Executive
wants to see is one designed from the viewpoint of the
customer - better public services, which get it right first
time and deliver efficiently and efficiently for the
customer. Ways of working more effectively with a focus on
the needs of the customer, however, can - and will -
enhance and develop the role of staff and increase job
satisfaction.
"The Scottish Executive promotes use of quality tools
and schemes to help deliver service improvements for
customers. This guide provides a clear description of the
key quality tools and schemes available to the public
sector and also demonstrated how they link together."
The Quality Network brings together people from across
the public, voluntary and private sectors with the common
aim of improving public services.
'Promoting Excellence in Scotland' outlines a wide
variety of quality schemes and tools, such as Charter Mark,
the EFQM Excellence Model, Investors in People, Six Sigma
and Kaizen Blitz which can help organisations improve all
aspects of their services and deliver continuous
improvement.
Aberdeenshire identified errors in personnel records and
put in place measures to address this problem.
Mr Kerr said: "Five weeks after the full roll out across
the entire council, the 47 per cent error rate had been
reduced to nine per cent and the 85 per cent error rate had
shrunk to 13 per cent. Additionally the number of
complaints from users about the forms has dropped to zero.
An overwhelming number of users, when surveyed, had only
praise for the new system."
Ability Centre Support Services in West Lothian provides
support and assistance to individuals to work towards their
personal goals and help them take part in a range of
activities.
Mr Kerr said: "The Ability Centre was opened in 2001 to
provide new forms of social work services for adults with a
physical disability. Following the successful Charter Mark
bid, a continuous improvement customer care group was
established to drive standards up even further."
Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary is included primarily
for its handling of the foot and mouth crisis. Using
quality standards and tools, the police demonstrated that
their response had been well measured and appropriate.
Mr Kerr said: "By continual review during the outbreak,
the Force was able to closely monitor the effect that the
outbreak was having. Crime levels, detection rates, public
satisfaction and staff sickness had, for the most part,
been unaffected or showed positive trends. In addition,
there had been little change in the number of complaints,
whilst letters of appreciation had soared against the
numbers received the previous year."
The EICC was established using public funds and has
generated more than £125 million in economic benefit for
Edinburgh since 1995.
Mr Kerr said: "The EICC was the first conference centre
in the world to achieve ISO9001 and the first to be
accredited with Investors in People. The company has won
the Quality Scotland Award on two occasions and was
recognised by its industry in 2000, when it was accredited
by Hospitality Assured Meetings."
West Fife Community Drugs Team was established in 1986
as a result of a community initiative to tackle the effects
of drugs at individual, family and community levels.
Mr Kerr said: "The organisation has evolved through
increased funding and staffing and the tremendous energy
and commitment from all involved. The agency continually
reviews the patterns and trends of drug use and the service
is aligned to take account of these needs."
Turning Point has provided services in Scotland since
1993 when it was invited to create a new form of day
services for individuals with severe and enduring mental
health problems.
Mr Kerr said: "Turning Point Scotland is not committed
to any one model of support or treatment for people,
believing that a person-centred approach is likely to be
most effective. This means that services differ and are
designed around individual service users. They live up to
their claim that they make services fit people and not the
other way round."
Renfrewshire Council has worked with staff and customers
to improve standards, which led to a successful application
for Charter Mark status.
And Kersland School - a special school providing primary
and secondary education for pupils with severe learning
difficulties in Paisley - is also praised. It has been
recognised as a well-run school for several years and has
worked with the community in achieving a range of awards
recognising pupils' achievements at school, local and
national level.
Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar Housing Department employed a
wide-ranging portfolio of techniques to drive continuous
improvement into the organisation.
Mr Kerr said: "Comhairle Nan Eilean Siar Housing
Department has extensively employed the principles and
practices of Best Value in the areas of performance
management and planning audit. By learning from the
experiences of other Local Authorities who are considering
Stock Transfer, the Department has managed change
well."