Building Control Achieves Prestigious Charter Mark

Building Control and Development Control Services celebrate repeated Charter Mark success

Barnsley Council's Building Control and Development Control Sections are celebrating their success at achieving the prestigious and coveted Charter Mark award for the second time. The award recognises their continued high standards in the delivery of customer-focused services and demonstrates that they put their customers first.

The Charter Mark assessment is a rigorous evaluation of the service. The assessor spent a great deal of time asking customers for their views, interviewing staff, and accompanying staff on site visits, to ensure that not only is an excellent service provided to customers, but that the customers also agree that their needs and aspirations genuinely form the basis for the design and delivery of the services provided. The assessor thought, 'staff respond promptly and positively to customers'& 'and customers found staff to be polite and helpful.'

The assessor acknowledges that the Sections are 'developing the use of technology to improve services' through on-line innovations. Their website includes customer information, various good practice guidance leaflets, allows customers to download application forms; and allows them to view the latest applications received by the Development Control Section each week. Other on-line services, allowing electronic submission of applications and improved IT provision allowing remote access to data for staff working on-site, increased effectiveness and helped them achieve the prestigious Charter Mark.

The extensive consultation programme carried out with service users was also recognised, and the assessor added that they 'make extensive use of consultation through questionnaires to all users, and also make use of focus groups to consult with main commercial users.' Output from the Council's 'Citizens Panel Review' was seen to help compliment the consultation practices carried out with 'partners through a variety of forum.' The assessor found 'clear standards for main activities that are centred around the delivery of the Council's planning development control and building control functions.' The ongoing consultation with services users will bring about continual improvements in service delivery.

Whilst the 'Assessment Evaluation Report' was generally complimentary and the evidence provided was mostly conclusive, it identified some areas for further improvement. Both Building Control and Development Control are addressing these together with other matters to ensure retention of the award when subsequent reviews are carried out. The service will now maintain and, where possible, improve levels of performance achieved at the time of their Charter Mark assessment. They will seek ways of continually improving what they do and implement these wherever it is practical to do so.

• information about the Charter Mark Awards Scheme
• What is Charter Mark?