Residents Survey 2016 results

In November 2015 BMG Research were commissioned to conduct a postal survey of 11,200 Suffolk residents.

The aim of the survey was to see which council services are most important to residents, therefore informing our decision making process when making savings.

We wanted to find out which services are the most used, and which services residents would be willing to see reduced.

Surveys were sent to residents in January 2016, to be completed by the end of February 2016.

Hear from the Leader of the Council

Watch the video below to hear what Councillor Colin Noble, Leader of Suffolk County Council, thinks of the results from this year's Residents Survey.

Find out more about the survey by reading the full report and information presented below.

Read the full report

The full research report sets out all the results of the survey, and summarises the findings accordingly.

Read the full BMG Research Report for the Residents Survey 2016 (Word, 2.9 MB)

Response rates

The postal survey was sent to 11,200 residents, using a sample drawn from the Postal Address File.

All those surveyed were given the choice of completing the survey by post or online.

In total 2841 surveys were completed (including 54 online) - a response rate of 25.4%.

The survey responses were weighted by gender, age and ethnicity at a district/borough level. Therefore, the findings are broadly representative of each areas by the core demographics.

Key findings

Click the sections below to reveal key findings from the residents survey on each topic.

A majority of residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live.

Results

Suffolk: 55% satisfied
East of England: 48% satisfied
National: 43% satisfied

This is similar to the key findings of the 2013 Budget Survey and 2014 Essex Residents Survey; but is ahead of National and East of England benchmarking.

On top of this, 28% of people agreed that they'd like to be more involved in decisions that affect their local area.

For most services, residents are more likely to state that service reductions are unacceptable, than acceptable.

The 5 services where there is overall support for service reduction are:

libraries
cultural/heritage services
Trading Standards and consumer advice
adult learning
countryside rights of way

Residents were also asked to state which council services they believe to be the most important:

Issue	Generally important (%)	Personally important (%)
Condition of roads and pavements	64%	69%
Services to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour	46%	40%
Fire and rescue services	43%	43%
Local bus services	40%	35%
Education services and support for schools	39%	30%
Household waste disposal and recycling	36%	49%

Residents were asked to state their satisfaction with different services across the council:

Area	Highest satisfied area	Level (%)	Lowest satisfied area	Level (%)
Highways and transport services	Street lighting	51%	Maintaining and repairing local pavements	43%
Services for children and families	Safeguarding children from harm and abuse	42%	Services to prevent youth and crime reoffending	29%
Social care services for adults	Social care for older people	41%	Social care for people with mental health problems	40%
Services for the local environment	Waste disposal	78%	Economic development to stimulate local businesses and the economy	23%
Education services	Access to nursery schools and childcare	54%	Adult learning and skills	17%

Website use

Around 75% of internet users would prefer to visit a council website for information, with the sole exception being in regard of complaints about services in the local area.

This is particularly encouraging given our Digital Transformation agenda.

Accessing information

Residents were asked to state which sources they use to access information:

77% use newspapers
28% use social media
53% use the internet

Broadband speeds

60% of residents with internet access are satisfied with the speed of their connection, with 28% dissatisfied.

Online Residents Survey

In addition to the representative sample survey provided by BMG, an online version of the survey was undertaken by Suffolk County Council. This was made available to all Suffolk residents to give their views.

Responses were collected between January and March 2016.

The survey was publicised in a number of ways, including events held at the time and various social media activity.

Residents Survey 2016 results

Hear from the Leader of the Council

Read the full report

Response rates

Key findings

Results

Issue

Generally important (%)

Personally important (%)

Area

Highest satisfied area

Level (%)

Lowest satisfied area

Level (%)

Website use

Accessing information

Broadband speeds

Alcohol consumption

Smoking

Exercise

Online Residents Survey

Residents Survey 2016 results

Hear from the Leader of the Council

Read the full report

Response rates

Key findings

Perceptions of the council

Perceptions of the local area

Service use and priorities

Satisfaction with council services

Information and communication

Healthy living

Online Residents Survey