Residents Panel Results - Spring 2003

RESULTS OF THE GOSPORT RESIDENTS' PANEL SURVEY SPRING 2003

During Spring 2003, Media 3, a local company carried out a survey on behalf of Gosport Borough Council. Residents were randomly selected from the electoral register and were given the opportunity to join our Residents' Panel by completing a questionnaire. A total of 1101 questionnaires were returned.

The Residents' Panel is used by the Council as one of the main methods of consultation. Membership of this Panel is maintained at approximately 1000 people to ensure that consultation feedback is statistically valid.

What will be done with the results?

The Council will take these results and use them, where possible, to help shape Council policy and to improve the services that it provides to the community.

Many of the questions were about the services which are currently being reviewed under Best Value. Under Best Value, Councils must consult a variety of people such as service users, residents and Council Tax Payers, to find out what they think about services. This feedback is then used to improve the services so that they match the needs of the community.

Analysed results - quantitative data

Comments:

1. None of the following results have been weighted.

2. All percentages have been rounded up to whole numbers, this method occasionally creates a situation where the sum of the results does not equal 100%

3. Unanswered questions are not counted as a valid response.

QUANTITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS

Detailed below are the questions the Residents' Panel were asked and the results:

1. Have you contacted Gosport Borough Council in the last 12 months?

Yes		No		I don't know
670	62%	404	37%	10	1%

2. How often do you contact the Council on average?

Weekly	Monthly	Quarterly	Annually
13	50	187	355

3. What do you normally contact the Council about?

Planning/Building Control	116
Environmental Health	130
Council Tax	161
Benefits	90
Leisure/Recreation	77
Refuse collection and waste	199
Housing	66
Something else (please state)	192

4. How did you last contact the Council?

By visiting the Town Hall	299
By telephone	352
In writing	74
By email	18
Through the website	10
Other (please state)	13

5. When you last contacted the Council, how satisfied were you with the Council's service on the following?

	Satisfied and very satisfied		Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied		Dissatisfied and very dissatisfied
a. Being able to deal with your query or concern	514	77%	57	9%	95	14%
b. The time taken to deal with your query	490	77%	67	11%	79	12%
c. Care taken to explain things fully	432	72%	104	17%	65	11%
d. Avoiding the use of 'jargon'	430	77%	104	19%	24	4%
e. Providing 'follow-up' information	311	58%	128	24%	95	18%
f. The overall attitude of staff	528	83%	62	10%	43	7%

6. Would you like an extension to the hours when you can telephone the Council?

Yes		No
246	38%	397	62%

If Yes, please tick any of the options that suit you

From 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday	62
From 9am to 7pm One day a week	91
Saturday mornings between 9am and noon	173

7. Would you like an extension to the hours when you can visit the Town Hall?

Yes		No
344	34%	658	66%

If Yes, please tick any of the options that suit you

From 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday	61
From 9am to 7pm One day a week	81
Saturday mornings between 9am and noon	286

8. How likely are you to do any of the following?

	Very likely and quite likely		Quite unlikely and very unlikely
a. Email the council	230	22%	827	78%
b. Pay bills to the Council over a secure web-site	126	12%	924	88%
c. Use on-line forms on the Council's web-site to request services	263	25%	785	75%

9. How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the cleanliness of the following in Gosport?

	Satisfied and very satisfied		Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied		Dissatisfied and very dissatisfied
a. Gosport High Street and Waterfront	769	73%	177	17%	111	11%
b. Local shopping areas (except Gosport High Street)	599	58%	270	26%	165	16%
c. Residential roads	536	50%	237	22%	289	27%
d. Beaches	633	62%	227	22%	162	16%
e. Parks and other similar grassed areas	618	60%	211	20%	207	20%
f. Roadside verges	532	51%	296	28%	223	21%
g. Car parks	628	62%	286	28%	104	10%
h. Public toilets	214	23%	268	29%	450	48%

10. How important is the cleanliness of the following in Gosport?

	Important and very important		Neither important nor unimportant		Unimportant and very unimportant
a. Gosport High Street and Waterfront	1063	99%	11	1%	4	0%
b. Local shopping areas (except Gosport High Street)	1052	98%	16	1%	1	0%
c. Residential roads	1044	96%	37	3%	2	0%
d. Beaches	1057	99%	13	1%	2	0%
e. Parks and other similar grassed areas	1055	98%	17	2%	2	0%
f. Roadside verges	995	93%	74	7%	6	1%
g. Car parks	948	90%	103	10%