The Organisational Framework is defined under three high level areas of quality:
- Meeting Clients’ Needs
- Well Governed
- A Learning Organisation
The requirements of the Organisational Framework provide the foundation for raising both quality and consistency in the delivery of debt advice through the standards/membership codes and quality systems that organisations adhere to. The framework covers organisational systems, governance, adviser skills and competence and outcomes for clients.
In addition to assessing alignment against the Money and Pensions Service Quality Framework for Organisations, the assessment process also considers the frequency, rigour and measures of third party assessment processes.
All accredited standards and codes will have demonstrated that they assess compliance through appropriate and rigorous processes that include on-site audit/assessment, the assessment of advice and have a 3 year or less audit cycle.
Holding a quality standard or membership code that is accredited to the MaPS Quality Framework is compulsory for those organisations that are grant funded by MaPS. It is further recommended to non-funded agencies as an independent measure of quality assurance and consistency, and to gain entry for free to client services into the MaPS Debt Advice Locator Tool.
Upon formal confirmation of MaPS accreditation, accreditation will be a valid for a period of three years, subject to re assessments during this period in the event of changes made to the content, materials or delivery approach of an accredited programme or qualification.
A robust post-accreditation process assures the integrity of the MaPS Quality Framework by ensuring clear and regular communication, transparency of requirements, and fostering effective relationships between all parties.
Annual Report Checks
In addition to the 3 year full reassessment cycle as part of the continued accreditation process an annual review of 5 assessment reports is also required.
In practice this means that each accredited standard/code owner is required to submit 5 completed redacted assessment/audit reports against their standard/code on an annual basis. As part of this assessment process the assessor reviews alignment of the report sample submitted against the relevant standard/code and provides a detailed analysis of the report sample aligned to the MaPS Quality Framework.