Issue - meetings

Report of Head of Transformation

Purpose of Report

To update the Executive on the results of the annual satisfaction survey and identify any areas to be reflected in future business and/or performance plans.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

 1.1        To note the results of the customer survey, with particular reference to improvement in areas that were identified as priorities as an outcome of the survey undertaken in 2012. 

·         The way the Council deals with anti-social behaviour

·         The Council’s approach to dealing with environmental crime

·         Car Parking Services

1.2         To agree the priorities and areas of focus for future action as set out in paragraphs 3.5 and 3.6.

Resolved

(1)          That the results of the customer survey, with particular reference to improvement in the following areas that were identified as priorities as an outcome of the survey undertaken in 2012: The way the Council deals with anti-social behaviour; The Council’s approach to dealing with environmental crime; and, Car Parking Services, be noted.

(2)          That the following priorities and areas of focus for future action be agreed:

Priorities:

1)    Household waste collection

2)    Household recycling collection and food/ garden waste collection service

3)    Supporting the creation of jobs in the local area

4)    Street cleaning and tackling environmental crime

5)    Providing affordable housing

6)    Dealing with anti-social behaviour/ nuisance

Areas of focus for future action:

a)    Dealing with Anti-Social Behaviour: whilst improvement in this area has been recorded it is still rated as one of the areas of lowest satisfaction and is an area of high priority for local residents.

b)    Dealing with Environmental Crime: littering, fly-tipping, graffiti and dealing with dog waste, all key in terms of delivering a high quality local environment and services that are valued by local residents. This is an area where the Council needs to improve (currently it has the lowest rating) and as such should remain a priority.

c)    Continuing to focus on Street Cleansing: like ‘dealing with environmental crime’ one of the ‘top 6’ priorities street cleansing is a service that is experienced by all residents and plays an important part in terms of quality of life and enjoyment living within a local area. It is a service upon which the Council is judged and valued by many residents and as such should remain an on-going area of focus.

d)    Continued focus on communication with local residents and businesses: as noted above the better the quality of communication and access to information about Council services local residents have the more likely they will be able to access services and be satisfied with the results. Whilst there are currently solid satisfaction ratings with communication it should remain an area of on-going focus.

The Head of Transformation submitted a report which updated the Executive on the results of the annual satisfaction survey and identify any areas to be reflected in future business and/or performance plans.

Resolved

(1)          That the results of the customer survey, with particular reference to improvement in the following areas that were identified as priorities as an outcome of the survey undertaken in 2012: The way the Council deals with anti-social behaviour; The Council’s approach to dealing with environmental crime; and, Car Parking Services, be noted.

(2)          That the following priorities and areas of focus for future action be agreed:

Priorities:

1)    Household waste collection

2)    Household recycling collection and food/ garden waste collection service

3)    Supporting the creation of jobs in the local area

4)    Street cleaning and tackling environmental crime

5)    Providing affordable housing

6)    Dealing with anti-social behaviour/ nuisance

Areas of focus for future action:

a)    Dealing with Anti-Social Behaviour: whilst improvement in this area has been recorded it is still rated as one of the areas of lowest satisfaction and is an area of high priority for local residents.

b)    Dealing with Environmental Crime: littering, fly-tipping, graffiti and dealing with dog waste, all key in terms of delivering a high quality local environment and services that are valued by local residents. This is an area where the Council needs to improve (currently it has the lowest rating) and as such should remain a priority.

c)    Continuing to focus on Street Cleansing: like ‘dealing with environmental crime’ one of the ‘top 6’ priorities street cleansing is a service that is experienced by all residents and plays an important part in terms of quality of life and enjoyment living within a local area. It is a service upon which the Council is judged and valued by many residents and as such should remain an on-going area of focus.

d)    Continued focus on communication with local residents and businesses: as noted above the better the quality of communication and access to information about Council services local residents have the more likely they will be able to access services and be satisfied with the results. Whilst there are currently solid satisfaction ratings with communication it should remain an area of on-going focus.

Reasons

This report presents a summary of the findings from the 2013 customer satisfaction survey. It highlights a general trend of improvement across council services as well as areas where continued focus is required.

The report also highlights customer priorities and these will be used to help inform budget setting, the development of the Council’s Business Plan, Performance Pledges and 5 year Strategy.

As well as these high level findings the survey includes a wealth of service specific detail that will be used by service managers to help underpin service planning.

Options

Option 1: To accept the recommendations as outlined in part one of this report.

Option 2: To reject the recommendations and request additional work or alternative priorities arising from the survey findings.