Tuesday, January 08, 2013

Satisfaction with Council in Edinburgh increases by a third

I've just received the top-line results from this year's Annual Residents' Survey and there are some very interesting movements in the figures from last year ...

... now, I know all too well that one swallow doesn't make a summer, and that maintaining this pace of change will be challenging (to say the least!) but massive thanks should go to all Council Staff who are the real-people behind these undoubted improvements in performance and perception.

Here's the relevant News Release:
 

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Satisfaction with Council in Edinburgh increases by a third

Satisfaction with how the Council is managing the city and providing value for money has increased by nearly a third in the last year. Residents in Edinburgh are also happier with how the Council is managing their money with satisfaction levels increasing by 21 per cent.

These are some of the initial findings of a major survey of over 5000 residents across the city carried out from September to November last year.  

Council Leader Andrew Burns said: "I welcome this increase in satisfaction from our residents in the way we are managing the city. There is work going on to find out more about the reasons behind this, but early indications seem to point to an increase in confidence.  However, there is no room for complacency, and I Iook forward to the full results in February which will give us a clearer picture of where to concentrate our efforts to make further improvements."

"Although the majority of the results are very positive, I am not surprised that there has been a 10% dip in satisfaction with our waste collection service, probably mainly due to the scale of recent services changes which were being carried out at the same time the survey was conducted. I’m confident this will improve as our recycling rates increase and the changes bed in.

"Cllr Steve Cardownie, Deputy Leader of the City of Edinburgh Council, said: "These results are very good news for our local services. It is really important people feel safe and positive about the community they live in.  Satisfaction with how local neighbourhood areas are run is very high at 85%. We need to look closely at all of the results now to find out which areas of the city are in most need of greater attention. This information will also help us make decisions about where we concentrate resources"


1. Improvements on 2011 (statistically significant)

City Level

% satisfied with:
Increase on 2011
2012
2011
Delivering good value for money
29%+
60%
31%
The way the Council is managing the city*
26%+
72%
46%
Displaying sound financial management
21%+
39%
18%
Putting customers first
14%+
51%
37%
Edinburgh as a place to live
7%+
97%
90%
Car parking
3%+
19%
16%

*Reasons for dissatisfaction include trams (17% - reduced from 37% in 2011), mismanagement and poor use of funds (5% - reduced from 17%) and roads/pavements (4%). Anecdotal evidence from fieldworkers was that respondents were more positive about the trams and progress being made.


Neighbourhoods

% satisfied with:
Increase on 2011
2012
2011
Parks or other green spaces
13%+
93%
80%
Neighbourhood management*
12%+
86%
74%
Sport and leisure facilities
12%+
77%
65%
Feeling of safety after dark
10%+
87%
77%
Maintenance of pavements
10%+
66%
56%
Recycling
5%+
84%
79%
Neighbourhoods as a place to live
4%+
94%
90%
Maintenance of roads
3%+
56%
53%

Note: satisfaction with nursery, primary and secondary schools, libraries to be calculated.


Positive satisfaction with the way community safety and anti-social behaviour issues are dealt with:

  • Violent crime - 33% satisfied; 57% say it is not an issue
  • Vandalism and graffiti – 42% satisfied; 48% say it is not an issue
  • Antisocial behaviour – 41% satisfied; 46% say it is not an issue
  • Dog fouling – 33% satisfied; 32% say it is not an issue
  • Street drinking a problem – 6% yes; 82% no


Priorities for improving quality of life in neighbourhood

76% say no complaints/council doing a good job

15% – road improvements
10% - clean up area
3% - activities for children and young people


Areas for attention

  • Ability to have a say - 28% disagree; 38% unsure
  • Rubbish collection - satisfaction has been consistently high (>80%) since 2007, highest in 2011 at 87%. This has reduced to 78% in 2012.

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2 comments:

Unknown said...

Come on andrew, 56% satisfied with roads maintenance?? Was this a survey of helicopter users!!

Andrew said...

Niall

No ... I'm just passing on the data, as received this afternoon!

Thanks for checking the blog :-)

Andrew