Council wins Charter Mark for third time in a row

South Norfolk Council’s Revenue Service has been awarded a Charter Mark for the third time in a row after assessors described the council team as enthusiastic and ready to go the extra mile for residents.

Each Charter Mark is awarded for three years before the team is assessed again, and as news broke at a full council meeting of this latest success, councillors from all sides applauded.

One of the keys to the Charter Mark assessment is the view of customers, and the assessors talked to residents and groups like the Citizens Advice Bureau, about the service they received.

Tanya Tilford, who heads the Revenue Services section, praised her team and said the Charter Mark was national recognition for their practice of “putting people first in everything we do”.

She said:

“What gets us out of bed in the morning is our enthusiasm to help people in genuine need – to be willing to go the extra mile for them, as the assessors said.”

The Charter Mark award may also have much wider implications for the council. The team’s way of working and responding to people’s needs could become a best practice benchmark for councils across the country.

The Charter Mark Assessors said:

“The assessment team was particularly impressed with the local standards set by South Norfolk Council Revenue Services. In particular, the continual effort by all staff to review and improve upon standards - virtually on a daily basis - through the culture of excellence that is an intrinsic part of this service.

“We therefore recommend that this be notified to the Cabinet Office for possible inclusion in the benchmarking database.”

Tanya Tilford added:

“For a small rural district council like South Norfolk to be considered a benchmark of best practice for councils everywhere is something we are proud of - but we are not complacent. One of the reasons we have won this award again is because of our commitment to keep improving, and not rest on our laurels.”

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