Issue - meetings

This report informs the Executive of the detailed results of the Residents’ Opinion Survey (07/08).

RESOLVED: (i)         That the generally improved ResOp survey results be noted and that the Executive record its thanks to those Officers and Members who have worked so hard to provide good quality public services to the citizens of York.

                        (ii)        That the Chief Executive be requested to identify how satisfaction with public service standards in the City can be improved further and, in particular, to address any indicators which suggest that performance may be below national average levels.

REASON:      In order to monitor the Council’s performance and ensure the continued delivery of quality services.

Members considered a report which presented the results of the Residents’ Opinion Survey undertaken in 2007/08.

In total, 1,655 usable responses had been received to the Survey, representing a response rate of 33%.  The responses indicated that, overall, 51% of residents were satisfied with the way that the City of York Council ran things, as compared to 44% in the 2005/06 Best Value Performance Indicator (BVPI) survey.  The majority (65%) considered that things had remained the same over the past three years.  In terms of the more specific ‘corporate health’ indicators, most residents agreed that the Council was working to make the area cleaner and greener, safer and a better place to live, whilst 54% agreed that the Council provided value for money. 

Details of the results in relation to  individual service areas were set out in paragraphs 10 to 62 of the report, together with a table showing key indicators and findings from the Survey.  A table at paragraph 63 compared the BVPI indicators from 2007 with the 2006/07 unitary quartiles.

With reference to the advice of the Shadow Executive on this item, Members commented that the Council’s performance with regard to overall customer satisfaction was in fact now above average.  In respect of complaints handling, it was noted that the difference between the best and worst performing Councils was very narrow and that there might sometimes be difficulties in this area in distinguishing between a query and a complaint.

RESOLVED: (i)         That the generally improved ResOp survey results be noted and that the Executive record its thanks to those Officers and Members who have worked so hard to provide good quality public services to the citizens of York.

                        (ii)        That the Chief Executive be requested to identify how satisfaction with public service standards in the City can be improved further and, in particular, to address any indicators which suggest that performance may be below national average levels.¹

REASON:      In order to monitor the Council’s performance and ensure the continued delivery of quality services.