User satisfaction survey 2006/07
Every three years, all local authorities in England are required to carry out a Best Value Performance Indicator (BVPI) User Satisfaction Survey. Independent pollsters MORI conducted this major survey on our behalf between September and November 2006.
The survey was undertaken to find out what East Sussex residents think of their local council and the services we provide. The results will be used to help steer the direction of local government services and identify what residents see as priorities for improvements.
A total of 3,200 households in East Sussex were chosen at random to take part in the survey. This gave everyone an equal chance of taking part and ensured that a good cross-section of residents were involved. Any member of the household aged over 18 was eligible to fill in the questionnaire. In total 1,277 valid responses were received.
Results
Just over a half of respondents were satisfied with the way we run our business and services. This drop in satisfaction level from the previous survey was expected and is a result of a change in methodology from face to face in 2003/04 to the postal method that all councils were required to use this time. It is well known that face-to-face interviewing produces a more positive response from consultees.
The 52% result from this survey puts East Sussex in the middle in relation to customer satisfaction for county councils, with the lowest county scoring 46% and the highest 57%. When comparing this year’s findings to those of other County Councils and neighbouring authorities, many of our scores are in line with those seen elsewhere.
Key findings show that:
- approximately three quarters of respondents (72%) believe that the Council treats all types of people fairly. A similar proportion (68%) believe it is making the local area a better place to live.
- eight in ten (81%) feel satisfied with their local area as a place to live
- residents highlight activities for teenagers, road and pavement repairs and the level of traffic congestion as most in need of improvement locally
- residents are generally more satisfied with cultural and recreational services than they were three years ago
- residents are also generally positive about most aspects of waste collection. Overall, eight in ten (81%) are satisfied with the local tip/ household waste recycling centre.
- satisfaction with planning services, personal social services and local education services have all decreased since 2003/04. These levels of satisfaction are very much in line with the scores achieved by other County Councils.
- around one in five residents claim to have contacted us with a complaint in the last 12 months. Complainants are slightly less satisfied with the way their complaint was handled than they were in 2003/04.
- nearly half (45%) claim that they are kept informed about the services and benefits we provide. Although this represents a 17 percentage point decrease from 2003/04 it is above the national average which shows a decrease from 51% to 42%.
A summary of the results can be downloaded below.
What has happened as an outcome of this survey?
The results of this survey will be used, along with other ‘satisfaction’ feedback obtained through Council surveys (including the Residents’ Panel survey) to help shape services for the future. Departments will be analysing satisfaction feedback in relation to their particular services.
This is early work in progress but, to date, the following action has already been taken:
- additional funding has been allocated in this year’s budget for work with young people and footway repairs
- work is underway to improve customer focus across the authority, including customer service issues relating to call handling and the need to introduce corporate customer service standards across the authority
- linked closely to customer focus is a review of the Council’s complaints process (both formal and informal complaints) which is now underway. This is in response to our own Residents’ Panel survey and the BVPI survey which shows East Sussex as one of the lowest scoring county councils for satisfaction with complaint handling.
- the Council’s Communications Team will be reviewing, as part of our continuous improvement, how they communicate information to residents, the most effective methods and frequency and quality of news. Feedback from the BVPI survey shows that a much higher percentage of residents get their information from the local media (53% in East Sussex, compared to 31% for other authorities).
Further analysis and consultation with residents may be needed to inform further improvements.
Our last User Satisfaction Survey was carried out between October 2003 and January in 2004. You can read the results of the previous Residents' Satisfaction Survey 2003/04.
To find out more about Best Value Performance Indicators, please see our page on the Council Plan for 2006/07.
