Aims of the survey
We wanted to know more about the current economic situation from a residents' perspective, and how the recession is currently affecting panel members and the community in which they live.
We wanted to find out what needed to be in place to help them through any difficult times they may be facing, and what impact this may have on the way we and our partners provide services in the future.
Who took part
We surveyed our Residents' Panel, a broadly representative cross-section of people around the county. The survey was carried out by post and online.
Even if panel members felt the recession hasn't had an impact on them personally, we still asked for their views in order to get a complete picture of what's happening across the county.
The consultation took place between February and April 2009 and we received just over 1,400 responses, an excellent response rate of 75%.
What you told us
- Increased household bills – 80% of panel members have been affected by increased household bills, and for a third this has had the most effect in the last 6 months
- Amount of disposable income or investment income – over half of respondents were affected by a decrease in income
- Quality of life – for a third of you this has got worse
- The three most useful pieces of information to help you to survive the recession were:
- things to do and places to go that are free of charge
- how to be more energy efficient
- tips on being thrifty.
These findings showed there were several issues that need to be addressed.
Recommendations
As a result of what panel members told us, the following actions were recommended in the report:
- continue to signpost residents to information from reliable sources that they will find useful
- although the County Council already puts out regular information to reassure residents about cowboy builders, scams and loan sharks and how residents can protect themselves, the Council needs to review its methods and ensure that more residents are informed
- more promotion of the Buy With Confidence scheme to businesses
- make more use of the local media to publish information and investigate whether the media can be more positive in its reporting style about the recession (for example, print signposting information)
- ensure that we target our information effectively to different audiences in the community
- publish more information about what the County Council itself is doing about the recession
- ensure that in the decisions it makes the County Council continues to be sensitive to the pressures on residents' household budgets and the negative impact the recession is having.
You can download our report about the Residents' Panel survey below.
What happened next?
Report to Cabinet
The results and recommendations from this survey, together with results from a survey of local businesses about the recession were presented to the Council's Cabinet in July 2009.
They will help to inform how the County Council can support the local community during the current economic climate.
Business survey 2009
We also contacted more than 1,000 local businesses in March 2009 to find out how businesses have been affected by the recession. The results are published on the East Sussex in Figures (ESiF) website:
Actions taken
A number of actions have already taken as a result of the survey.
- Your County magazine – the summer 2009 edition included information about things to do and places to go that are free of charge, how to be more energy efficient and tips on being thrifty.
- Your money: financial advice pages on website – updated the wide range of information you said that you would like to see, and added more links to reputable websites that you can visit for help and advice.
- Help for business – published a web page of links to national and local schemes supporting businesses through the downturn.
- Free things to do in East Sussex – published a web page listing suggestions of things to do and places to go that don't cost anything.
The recession and its effects on the residents and businesses of East Sussex continue to be one of the County Council's key priorities. You can read more details about what has happened as a result of this consultation in the outcomes report below.
Contact us
If you have any queries about this survey, please contact the residents' panel.
East Sussex County Council