14 April 2000
Steve Freer described the Quality Improvement Scheme he pioneered at Warwickshire County Council. This had produced consistent increases in service levels in the treasurer's department and finance units across the council.
'How do you get quality improvement in the public services?' he said. 'Well, I can tell you how not to do it. What you don't do is make quality the responsibility of the top person and leave that person to squeeze it into the cracks of an extremely busy life.'
Freer said that if public services began to address quality issues seriously, they would no longer view government initiatives as an imposition.
'We can begin to see inspection not as threatening, risky processes but as opportunities for us to demonstrate just how much progress we have made,' he added.
PFapr2000
