Imagine if the boss came round at pay rise time and asked if you were doing a good job. How many people would say no?

That's the trouble with self assessment, there's always a nagging suspicion that people might be over egging the pudding.

So we have a system in many public organisations where assessment is done by an army of inspectors.

Whether it's a council, health trust, school, police force or hospital, there are bureaucrats employed by central government who assess efficiency and effectiveness and report back.

The trouble is that the inspections themselves impact on the efficiency of a council. Instead of delivering services to the public, staff are tied up chaperoning and producing data for the inspectors.

I once had three inspectors at the town hall assessing energy efficiency. One checked if lights were on, another if the heating was on and another wrote it down on a clipboard. It's a pity no-one assessed their energy efficiency.

The Government realises that assessment is a costly and time consuming business and is now looking to allow the best councils to assess themselves. But, as a safety check, councils must still provide data covering numerous performance indicators. If standards slip the inspectors can be sent back in.

The danger with this system is that resources should be allocated to where they will be of best benefit to public, not funnelled into areas that will look good on the indicators.

As an example, one health trust has told me of a performance indicator that measures how many people they persuade to give up smoking for four weeks.

I can't see the relevance of this; it is a performance indicator that encourages short term thinking rather than lasting change. If someone gives up smoking for four weeks, goes back, then gives up for another four weeks do you get two ticks in the box?

Education performance indicators have helped bring about improvement but they are now in danger of becoming the be all and end all of teaching.

We need to accept that not all children will achieve five GCSE grades A-C. That doesn't mean their achievements are worthless or that resources should be diverted towards someone else.

I've spoken to teenagers who want to become bricklayers or plumbers. They say they cannot get on a course without five GCSEs. Well, I'm sure Wayne Rooney doesn't have five GCSEs yet he has managed to excel at his chosen profession.

We have heard a great deal about anti-social behaviour lately, but what incentive is there for the police to actually crack down on it. It may well be the number one concern of the public but often it isn't criminal and so doesn't show up on performance indicators.

A police officer spending a day catching speeding motorists will show up on the indicators but one who walks round his neighbourhood and moves on a gang of youths congregating on the street corner probably won't.

The Government needs to ensure that the indicators it uses to judge public organisations are in line with the demands of the public these organisations serve and that they reflect, rather than dictate, how resources are allocated.

Published: 27/05/2005