General Help
- General Quality Mark update
- About the General Quality Mark standard
- Additional requirements and Definitions for Telephone Services
- How to apply for the General Quality Mark (including Telephone)
General Quality Mark update
The Legal Services Commission has awarded the contract for the delivery of the auditing services of the General Quality Mark (including telephone) standard to The Assessment Network Ltd. The auditing process commenced on 1 April 2009.
The registration process run by The Assessment Network Ltd. for existing General Quality Mark standard holders has now closed. Any organisation that has not registered with either the Legal Services Commission or The Assessment Network Ltd. is now considered as having withdrawn from the General Quality Mark process. The Assessment Network Ltd will contact these organisations shortly to confirm their withdrawal.
These organisations will be required to remove the Quality Mark logo and any other reference to the Quality Mark from stationery and promotional/display material by 11 August 2009.
For more information about the process please contact The Assessment Network Ltd.
About the General Quality Mark standard
General Quality Mark holders are organisations that provide advice and/or outline options to members of the public.
The GQM has two levels that can be applied for:
- General Help
- General Help with Casework
General Help
Organisations will need to demonstrate they provide the following services when applying for this level:
- Diagnose client’s problems
- Give information and explaining options
- Identify further action that the client can take
- Give basic assistance, e.g. complete basic forms, contact third parties to seek information
For more information please read the General Quality Mark Standard, which can be found in the Documents section on the right hand side of this page.
General Help with Casework
Organisations will need to demonstrate they provide the following services when applying for this level:
- Take action on behalf of clients in order to move the case on
- Negotiate and advocate on the client's behalf to third parties on the telephone, by letter and face to face
By definition, most cases will involve follow up work with the service provider retaining responsibility for much of this further action.
The current casework categories are split into two categories:
| Subject based | Client based |
|---|---|
| Consumer/General Contract | Asylum Seekers and Refugees Casework |
| Debt | Disability Casework |
| Employment | Older People Casework |
| Health and Community Care | Racial Discrimination and Racial Harassment Casework |
| Housing | Students Casework |
| Immigration/Nationality | Women Casework |
| Welfare Benefits | Young People Casework |
Detailed definitions of the individual Casework categories are available in Annex A of the General Quality Mark Standard and the Case 1 Forms documents, which can be found in the Documents section on the right hand side of this page.
Additional Requirements and Definitions for Telephone Services
This standard applies to organisations that supply legal information, advice or services by telephone at the General Help or General Help with Casework level, including:
- National, Regional and Local telephone services
- Organisations that provide additional telephone assistance as well as face to face service
The requirements of the telephone level should be read in conjunction with both the General Help and General Help with Casework requirements.
For more information please read the General Quality Mark Standard, which can be found in the Documents section on the right hand side of this page.
How to apply for the General Quality Mark (including telephone)
The audit of the General Quality Mark is conducted by The Assessment Network Ltd (TAN) on behalf of the Legal Services Commission.
If you wish to apply for the General Quality Mark please contact TAN. Application forms and further information on the audit process are available on their website.
There is a charge to undergo the audit process. Charges are graduated according to the size of the organisation. Details of the General Quality Mark audit charges can be obtained from The Assessment Network Ltd.
Last updated: 13 December 2010