30/09/03 - Don't forget to return - 'Listening to your Views'

This week reminders are being sent to Cumbrian residents who have been asked by their local Council to take part in one of the biggest surveys ever conducted in Cumbria. All seven of Cumbria’s local authorities are involved (Cumbria County Council and the 6 District councils: Allerdale; Barrow; Carlisle; Copeland; Eden and South Lakeland) and each posted questionnaires to a random selection of approximately 2500 households within their area. Over 25% have already been returned but the Councils want to receive as many completed questionnaires as possible. All responses are treated in the strictest confidence and it is important that people respond to the questionnaire if they receive one.   

The survey, called “Listening to Your Views!”,  gathers the views of the general public about the range of services the County and District Councils provide. It is carried out every three years and is managed nationally by the Office for the Deputy Prime Minister. Every local authority in England is carrying out the same survey.    

The questionnaires were sent out at the start of the month and ask for people’s opinions on a number of areas, including:

• Whether their quality of life has got better or worse?
• What things need to be improved?
• Satisfaction with Council services (parks, waste, libraries, transport etc).
• Overall satisfaction with how their Council is performing.  

A further copy of the survey is enclosed with each reminder in case the original has been lost or misplaced.

The results from the completed questionnaires will be used by the individual Councils to help them establish what local communities need and ensure that local priorities are met. Additionally the results will be used by the Government to assess and compare public satisfaction with services across the country. The findings from this survey will also affect each Council’s position in national performance league tables.

Acting as a consortium, the 7 Councils have contracted Carlisle based CN Research to administer the survey on their behalf. It can be filled in by anyone in the household over the age of 18 and should be returned in the pre-paid envelope as soon as possible. Full instructions are included in the questionnaire.