SOUTHAMPTON-based Ordnance Survey is this week celebrating the announcement of an outstanding fourth Charter Mark award.

Britain's national mapping agency is one of only a handful of public bodies in the country to win four successive "awards for excellence."

Independent assessors - appointed to advise the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, on which organisations should be awarded the accolade - are commending Ordnance Survey on ten counts. Praising Ordnance Survey for continuing to provide "exceptionally high-quality service" to users, the panel pays particular tribute to the motivation and commitment of staff at the agency. The Charter Mark feedback report also gives praise for the ways in which Ordnance Survey deals with its customers and partners.

Special mention is made of the mapping agency's new corporate vision - which focuses strongly on understanding and meeting customer needs. To win four successive awards is a particular achievement because high standards set for each one must be further improved for the next.

"We are determined to put our customers first, because we appreciate just how important their needs are," says Ordnance Survey's Director General and Chief Executive Vanessa Lawrence. "The fact that the Charter Mark awards panel is recognising this effort with such enthusiasm is a tribute to the hard work by the people who work for this organisation."