The Performance Plan 2006

Every three years the Government requires local authorities to carry out a survey to gauge public satisfaction with their services. The last surveys were carried out in 03/04 and 3,100 responses were received. The main satisfaction ratings are given in Table 12.

Table 12 - Satisfaction with our services

Service	% Satisfied
Waste collection	87 %
Housing tenants	81 %
Benefits	80 %
Parks and open spaces	77 %
Doorstep recycling collection	76 %
Information provided	70 %
Recycling facilities	68 %
Planning applicants	63 %
Street cleaning	63 %
Sports and Leisure facilities	52 %
Complaints handling	30 %
Overall	60 %

Since the surveys we have addressed areas of lower satisfaction: -

• Complaints handling. We introduced improvements for dealing with and reporting the results of complaints. We record satisfaction levels with the way complaints are handled. For 2005/06 satisfaction had risen to 35%.
• Sports and Leisure facilities. We have continued to improve access to sports facilities through the programme of dual use sports facilities at village colleges; through grants to parish councils; and through the provision of facilities for new developments through Section 106 planning agreements.
• Street Cleaning. In 2005/06 our performance on BV199 (the percentage of land and highways with deposits of litter or detritus) has improved from 35% to 30%. We are planning further improvements, using pump-priming money, in order to achieve the stretch target of 29% in the Local Area Agreement. We are also working with parish councils, the police and probation service to improve the removal of litter and graffiti as part of our “enviro-crime” agenda.
• Planning applicants. In 2005/06 we improved the speed of decision-making for major and minor applications (BV 109). We introduced the ability to make planning applications and track progress on-line. We transferred aspects of development control to the Contact Centre to enable the public to make enquiries six days a week from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The next three-year surveys will take place from September 2006 to March 2007.