Europe Citizen

Royal Mail’s First Class Service the best ever

Royal Mail's quality of service to customers is at its highest level ever, as the latest figures show.  In the second quarter of 2006-07 (end of June to early September), 94.5% of First Class letters arriving the next working day after posting.  This is the best performance of any quarter on record, and exceeds the 93.0% national target. Second Class mail also beat its 98.5% target, with a 99.1% performance over the same three-month period – also the best second quarter result on record.

“These are great results and confirm we are delivering the best ever quality of service to our customers,” said Ian Griffiths, Managing Director, Royal Mail Letters.  “This is thanks to the hard work and dedication of all our postmen and women who do a first class job day in, day out.”

European Commission reviews directives on Consumer Protection

Last year the European Commission identified 8 directives which are getting outdated by new technologies, but which represent the cornerstone of its Consumer Policy (the Consumer Acquis).  The Commission asked in a public consultation for views on the future of these directives.

On 8 February the Commission published a second Green Paper which lays out the alternatives the Commission believes it has – either do nothing; review each directive separately, or produce a new basic directive, supported by separate, specialist directives where necessary.

New Council Contact Centre enhances online service for citizens of Canterbury

UK Canterbury City Council has improved its customer service capabilities and reported high levels of customer satisfaction since the opening of its new Customer Contact Centre.

The Council is currently handling 27% more customer calls than before the Centre was opened in February 2005 - and a survey conducted amongst citizens and business customers in the second quarter of 2005 revealed an overall Customer Satisfaction rating of 88% with services delivered through the new Centre. Read the story.

On-line public services are increasingly mature, "intelligent" user centric inclusive services are the next frontier

A survey, carried out for the European Commission by Capgemini shows that the maturity of online public services across the EU keeps growing and has now reached an overall level of sophistication where full two-way interaction between citizens and governments is the norm, and nearly 50% allow citizens to conduct the whole process online.

The sophistication index has risen by 6% in the year to April 2006 in the EU 15 Member States, but 16% in the EU10 reflecting the considerable efforts made in recent years. Austria leads the on-line public service league, followed by Malta and Estonia.

Cancer Research UK

Cancer Research UK is an independent organisation dedicated to cancer research, through the work of more than 3,000 scientists, doctors and nurses. The Phone line for supporter services is 020 7121 6699.

Food Safety

The Food Standards Agency provides advice and information to the public and Government on food safety from farm to fork, nutrition and diet. This independent Government department set up by an Act of Parliament in 2000 manages a number of different websites.

Your direct line to the European Union

EUROPE DIRECT is a service which will help you find an answer to your questions about the European Union.

The EUROPE DIRECT call centre can be reached on 00 800 67 89 10 11 between 09h00-18h30 CET Mondays-Fridays. Outside of these hours you may leave a message on the voice-mail system.

French suicide helpline

You can reach "Suicide Ecoute" helpline on the phone 01 45 39 4000.

Child Protection Helpline

The NSPCC Child Protection Helpline is a free, 24-hour service that provides counselling, information and advice to anyone concerned about a child at risk of ill-treatment or abuse. If you are worried about a child and don't know what to do, or if you are a concerned young person yourself just dial 0808 800 5000. If you have a hearing difficulty, you can use their textphone 0800 056 0566.