Agenda item

Each year the council undertakes a Residents Satisfaction Survey as part of its performance framework.

The Residents Satisfaction Survey for 2022/23 was undertaken during June and July 2023.  The council instructed BMG Research to undertake the survey.

This report sets out the main findings of the survey for review by members.

 Group Head of Organisation Excellence presented her report and introduced the 2023 Arun Residents’ satisfaction Survey to the Committee.

          It was explained that the survey provided an insight into residents’ perceptions in terms of Arun and what it was like as a place to live and what were the customer satisfaction levels in terms of the services that were provided by the Council.

          The Committee was advised that:

(1)  The survey had been carried out by a professional survey organisation called BMG to ensure that responses remained anonymous.  Members had been given a copy of their full report.  These included details of the methodology used and the views expressed.  Where possible the data in the report had been benchmarked against the Local Government Association’s national public poll in June 2023 on resident satisfaction with local councils.

(2)  The various perceptions of residents had been illustrated in tables or charts, including trends over time and on page 49 of the agenda a  summary of the responses to each question and the changes in positive satisfaction since the 2022 survey had been provided. 

(3)  The survey had been posted to 3000 residents selected to ensure full geographical coverage across the district with 755 questionnaires completed, a response rate of 25%.  This was slightly down on last year but provided a big enough response to be statistically valid.   This was the ‘closed survey’.    In addition, all residents of the district were given the opportunity to complete the survey online, via a link on the website.  610 surveys were completed by this route.   Section 4 of the BMG report set out differences between the  perceptions of those responding to the open and the closed surveys with some suggested reasons.

Finally, it was explained that in addition to this survey, key performance indicators were reported to Service Committees which also provided the Council with a wealth of factual performance data enabling Members to scrutinise the performance of services on a regular basis. Officers were therefore proposing that the Residents Satisfaction Survey be completed every two years in the future with the next survey planned to be undertaken in 2025, resulting in a budget saving.

A range of questions and observations were asked and made by Members. Of particular interest were the satisfaction levels for the eastern and western sides of the district which differed considerably with those residing in the east being very satisfied compared to those in the west who were less so.  These differences could be seen with issues such as levels of cleanliness and trusting the council to make the right decisions. Members were keen to explore how improvements could be made to level out these differences.

          The Joint Interim Chief Executive and Director of Growth outlined that Officers were looking at the results closely to identify the specific areas that the Council needed to address. It was clear the Council needed to find ways of communicating better with residents and this work was in hand.

          Following further discussion, the Chair drew Members’ attention to the recommendations set out within the report. A request was made that the voting on the recommendations be separated. 

          Councillor Nash formally proposed recommendation 1 which was seconded by Councillor Stanley.

          The Committee

                     RESOLVED

                     That following review, the report be noted.

          Councillor Birch then proposed the second recommendation which was seconded by Councillor Oppler.

          The Committee

                     RESOLVED

That approval be given that the Residents’ Satisfaction Survey be carried out on a biannual basis in the future with the next survey to be in 2025.