Turning the Tables: 2002

England's 150 biggest councils have been told how good - or bad - they are.

Now The Westminster Hour has turned the tables on the ministers and civil servants who are backing the idea of these assessments - by asking: just how good are you?

In December 2002 city, unitary and county councils were given their marks by the Audit Commission, the watchdog that checks if public money is being spent properly. They were labelled as excellent, good, fair, weak or poor after visits by teams of inspectors.

The Westminster Hour called up its own inspectors - 12 experts on the way central government works. They include two former cabinet ministers, a top Labour MP, former civil servants, academics, economists and people from think tanks and the media.

Click here to find out about our judges

They were asked to mark the 16 main Whitehall departments in four categories:

Delivery: Does the department achieve the results expected by Tony Blair and voters?

Legislation: Have its new laws worked? Does the department have a vision of new policy and legislation in the years ahead?

Management: Is it well-run with public money used in a responsible way?

Handling crises: How does the department react to emergencies? Does it work well with other ministries and communicate effectively?

Click here to listen to 'Turning the Tables', broadcast on December 15

Click here to find out the results in detail