Commercial Services receives mark of quality

4.18.00pm GMT Fri 4th Feb 2005

Cllr Chas Hall, executive member for commercial services has congratulated staff in his department following the news that City of York Council's Commercial Services organisation has gained independent certification of its status as a provider of high quality services.

The seal of approval comes as a result of an external assessment carried out by the European Foundation of Quality Management (EFQM), an independent, not for profit organisation renowned Europe-wide for its expertise in corporate management.

The commercial services department is contracted to run a number of council services including refuse and recycling collections, street cleaning and housing maintenance. The EFQM assessment is part of a plan by City of York Council to improve Commercial Services, of which one stage is to switch it from being an 'in-house service' to a more efficient 'quality assured service provider'.

Making this switch requires an independent guarantee of the quality of the service the organisation provided. EFQM were called in as a qualified independent organisation to judge whether the commercial services organisation reached the required standards.

The improvement programme is ongoing and, when completed, will result in better value services for York taxpayers.

Cllr. Chas Hall said:

"This is the first stage of moving towards a more streamlined and efficient method of providing council services.

" I am delighted that this change has been brought about and congratulate all the staff involved in achieving this standard of assessment. I look forward to further integration with the York Pride Initiative to ensure that quality services are provided resulting in value for money for York residents."