We asked members of our Residents' Panel for their opinions about:
- their experience when they contact us
- our highways services
- County Council services in general
- what's important or needs improving in their area.
Who could take part
Only Residents' Panel members could take part in this survey. Find out about the panel and how to join:
This consultation took place from Friday 14 October to Friday 25 November 2011. Panel members completed this survey by post or online. We received nearly 900 responses, a response rate of 50%.
What you told us
The findings from this survey showed that:
Contacting us
- A third (33%) of respondents had contacted us in the last 12 months, the three main reasons were to report an issue or problem, ask for advice or information or apply to use a service.
- Overall levels of satisfaction with contacting us were low with just over half (55%) being satisfied, an increase of 5% since the previous survey in 2009.
Highways services
- Satisfaction with six of the services provided by our Highways team has improved since our 2010 survey. Panel members are most satisfied with street lighting, road signs and illuminated signs.
- Two thirds (64%) of respondents are satisfied with the way roadworks are carried out. There is an increase of 7% in the overall levels of satisfaction since the last survey (50% in 2011, up from 43% in 2010).
- A fifth (21%) felt that the condition of the roads and pavements within East Sussex had improved over the last 12 months, two fifths (39%) felt they had stayed the same and nearly two fifths (36%) felt they were worse.
The three most important things in a local area were:
- road and pavement repairs and street lights (95%)
- road safety (94%)
- community safety (92%).
The things that need improving the most are:
- road and pavement repairs and street lighting (84%)
- activities for teenagers (71%)
- passenger transport (71%).
Getting involved
- Two fifths (41%) agreed that their views were taken into account. This is an increase of 6% since the 2010 survey.
- Reasons for disagreement were that residents' opinions are not listened to or that decisions are made for political reasons.
County Council services
- Four fifths (81%) agreed that the County Council has a difficult job to balance service needs and council tax levels.
- Three fifths agreed that the Council keeps residents informed about the services it provides (58%) and that they know what it does (61%).
- Half (50%) feel that the quality of County Council services overall is good and trust the Council to do its best for residents.
- Nearly two thirds (64%) are satisfied with how the County Council runs things and two fifths (39%) agreed that it provides value for money.
What happens next
Some of these results were presented to the County Council's Cabinet meeting in December 2011:
The feedback from this survey will be used to inform our decision making.
Background information
We have asked some of these questions before. By asking the same people the same questions again, we can see how our performance has changed over time and where we need to make changes.
Because the Council will have less money in the future, we have to look again at everything we do. We need to make sure that we spend your money on the things that are most important to you. Read about:
Help and enquiries
If you have any queries about this survey, please contact our Consultation and Engagement Manager.
East Sussex County Council