People impressed with 'At Most One Visit' reform in Ningbo

A staff member at the Ningbo Administrative Service Center gives directions to a man at the reception desk. [Photo by Zhang Yan]

With the advancement of Ningbo's reform on streamlining administrative procedures, people and companies have found more satisfaction when visiting government departments, according to a survey conducted by the Ningbo Municipal Statistics Bureau and Ningbo investigation team from the National Bureau of Statistics.

The "At Most One Visit" service reform, initiated by Zhejiang government in February 2017, is a great measure to improve the efficiency of government departments, ensuring people who visit a government department for public services only have to do so once.

The results of the survey showed that 87.9 percent of the total 1,200 interviewees are satisfied with the reform's cutting down on excessive red tape in public services, such as getting tax credit and renewing a business license. The efficiency improvement enables people to be free from long queues and frequent visits.

A man surnamed Huang benefitted from the reform when he applied for a business license for his lubricating oil shop in Ninghai county. Huang said his friend told him a few visits should be paid to the government department before he finally got the license. He said however that, "This time, I just paid one visit, since before going to the office, I scanned a QR code and prepared all materials according to the instructions."

Adopting QR codes is just one of the innovative methods to simplify the administrative procedures. Setting up online platforms and placing several government departments under one roof are also a common part of the reforms.

In the city of Cixi, a driver obtained his transport license two days after he submitted materials to the administrative service center. In the past, before getting the license, people needed to visit two different apartments and the whole process would generally take seven days. Departments are now more connected, saving a lot of time for people and companies.

According to the city's Commission Office for Public Sector Reform, Ningbo has simplified thousands of services since the reforms began. However, there are still some problems. Ningbo's next step is to deepen the reform with focuses on further integration of departments and collation of all services.

"We are going to conduct a thorough investigation into different departments and publish the results to the public," said an official from the Commission Office for Public Sector Reform. He believes the investigation will be a good way to guarantee comprehensive and efficient work.

Ningbo Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau provides integrated services, meaning people only need visit one place to deal with all their needs. [Photo/China-blue News]