South Derbyshire District Council - User satisfaction survey

In 2006 local authorities all over England, including South Derbyshire, carried out a survey to measure how satisfied people are with the services provided by their councils. This User Satisfaction Survey is carried out every three years so that the government can measure how well councils are performing and how well people rate local services.

The survey covered issues including:

what it’s like to live in our local area
how well we provide services
how people prefer to get in touch with us
how well we communicate with residents

It also provides the opportunity for residents to have their say on a range of specific community issues including anti-social behaviour, waste and litter services, household waste collection, doorstep recycling collections, local recycling facilities, cultural and recreational activities.

Please see below for a breakdown of the South Derbyshire survey results. Use the links below to be taken to the relevant section.

Why did we need to do this?

The services provided by the council have a direct impact on your quality of life. To determine how well councils are doing, the Government collects information about whether local people are happy with their council services and their local area through a residents' satisfaction survey carried out every three years. The results from this survey tell us how well we are doing and where we need to improve our services in the future.

Last autumn we asked a random selection of 6,000 residents living in South Derbyshire their views on the district, the council and the services we provide. 3,106 completed surveys were returned (a response rate of 51.8 per cent).

Living in South Derbyshire

74 per cent of you are satisfied with South Derbyshire as a place to live.

What makes somewhere a good place to live?

You said:

1. Low level of crime (61 per cent)
2. Health Services (40 per cent)
3. Clean streets (38 per cent)
4. Education provision (33 per cent)
5. Affordable decent housing (32 per cent)

What needs most improving?

You said:

1. Activities for teenagers (44 per cent)
2. Level of crime (32 per cent)
3. The level of traffic congestion (30 per cent)
4. Road and pavement repairs (28 per cent)
5. Public transport (21 per cent)

People from different backgrounds getting on

Forty-six per cent of residents feel that South Derbyshire is an area where people from different backgrounds get on well. Only 12 per cent of you feel that this is not the case.

Anti-social behaviour

The highest areas of perceived problems relate to:

Teenagers hanging around on the streets (57 per cent)
Parents not taking responsibility for the behaviour of their children (54 per cent)
People not treating each other with respect and consideration (40 per cent)

The council

Satisfaction with the council

Positively 59 per cent of residents who responded are satisfied with the way the council runs things and a further 30 per cent say they are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied.

Perceptions of the council

Seventy-two per cent of residents think that the council is making the area cleaner and greener, 67 per cent of you think that the council is making the area a better place to live, and just over half of you (52 per cent) think that the council is making the area safer. Fifty per cent of residents who responded think that the council is efficient and well run.

Customer services

For residents that have contacted the Council 7 out of 10 were satisfied with the helpfulness of staff, 68 per cent were satisfied with how easy it was to find the right person to deal with and 67 per cent were satisfied with the competency of the staff. Sixty-six per cent of residents were satisfied with the information given and 61 per cent were satsfied with the final outcome.

Feeling informed

Of those residents that expressed an opinion, 40 per cent feel well informed about the council, whilst just over half (53 per cent) do not feel very well informed.

Complaints

Seventeen per cent of respondents said that they had made a complaint to the council in the last 12 months, around 37 per cent of these people were satisfied with the way the complaint was handled.

Influencing decisions affecting your local area

Of those of you that expressed an opinion, 22 per cent of you agree that you can influence decisions, but over 55 per cent of you disagree. Nineteen per cent of you would like to be more involved in the decisions that affect the area and 58 per cent of you would like to be more involved, depending on the issue.

Council services

Waste and litter services

Overall, 68 per cent of you are satisfied with how the council has kept the land clear of litter and refuse, 84 per cent of you are satisfied with the bin provided for general waste and 83 per cent of you are satisfied with how “clean and tidy” the street is following the waste collection. Seventy-eight per cent of you are satisfied with the waste collection service overall.

Doorstep recycling collection

Seventy-eight per cent of you are satisfied with how “clean and tidy” the street is following the collection of items for recycling and 74 per cent of you are satisfied with the service for the collection of items for recycling overall.

Local recycling facilities

Seventy-five per cent of you are satisfied with the location of the recycling facilities and 74 per cent of you are satisfied with the items you can deposit for recycling and the provision of local recycling facilities overall.

Cultural and recreational services

Just over of half of you (53 per cent) are satisfied with sports/ leisure facilities and events and 69 per cent of you are satisfied with parks and open spaces. Sixteen per cent of you use sports/ leisure facilities and events almost every day or at least once a week and 38 per cent of you use parks and open spaces almost every day or at least once a week.

Other council services

Twenty-four per cent of you are satisfied with housing services, however, 70 per cent of you are neither satisfied or dissatisfied.
Twenty-eight per cent of you are satisfied with planning services, however, 61 per cent of you are neither satisfied or dissatisfied

What does the council plan to do next?

The results are positive in a number of ways but also suggest areas for improvement. The survey findings will be used by the council to help establish its future priorities and improve its services.

Results

Please use this link if you would like to view the 2006 User Satisfaction Survey 'top-line' results.

Contact details

Policy Unit
South Derbyshire District Council
Civic Offices
Civic Way
Swadlincote
Derbyshire DE11 0AH

Tel: 01283 595726
Online: contact form
email: yourviews@south-derbys.gov.uk

Page ref: SDDC 267

User satisfaction survey