The UK government seems particularly keen to encourage consumer empowerment. We’ve already had the GP patient survey – an opportunity for patients to rate the performance of GPs – and now we have OnePlace – designed by the Audit Commission to highlight and compare the performance of local councils, hospitals and police, across a range of measures, such as traffic accidents, child protection, teenage pregnancy and Co2 emissions.
Predictably, the ratings system used on the OnePlace site has been criticised by many local authorities as inaccurate, unfair and expensive. But it reflects the prevailing political view that providing easy access to information is the best way to encourage all of us to become more active and demanding citizens, which will, in turn, drive up standards within the public sector.