Wokingham

A 20 strong team of public service executives from The Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform commission (SMDRC), in China have just concluded a 14 day study programme to the UK with a visit to the offices of Wokingham District Council.

The SMDRC programme was funded by the Shanghai Government and the delegates are civil servants responsible for public service reform policy making and review.

During their visit on Friday (December 1) they listened to a presentation by Doug Patterson, chief executive of the council, on reforms in public services and the way in which Wokingham District Council have adapted to the changes.

Doug Patterson discussed the council structure, its decision making processes and financial management systems. This was followed by a presentation on council history by chairman Cllr Angus Ross.

Mr Yue We, senior economist with SMDRC, said: “We really appreciated this great opportunity to meet our UK partners and exchange ideas and views on UK public service and reform. We have been deeply impressed by the presentation and through this friendly visit we have learnt a great deal about the UK unitary local government system and its services. We believe that Wokingham District Council’s valuable experience and practice on public service will benefit us a lot and we may adopt some similar models in China before long. China has undergone public service reform as well, so more communication and exchange programmes would benefit both the UK and China."

At the end of the visit, Cllr Angus Ross presented a commemorative plaque to Mr Yue We and said: “We feel that the Chinese delegation gained a full and useful insight into the way we work and this could well be of mutual benefit.”

Wokingham District Council