As part of the Best Value performance indicator regime, the Council was required to undertake a STATUS survey based on a common format during the 2001/02 financial year.
The Gosport Borough Council survey was independently undertaken by Market Research UK Limited (see background paper: Resident Involvement in Gosport*). The objective of the survey was to provide accurate information about tenants, their opinions, housing circumstances and satisfaction levels with the services provided by the Council.
Conducted in March and April 2001, the survey was undertaken through the issue of a postal questionnaire to the 3912 Council tenanted households that were in residence in the Borough at that time. This survey obtained responses from a representative sample of 60% of the tenants across the Borough. This level of return ensures that within high statistical confidence levels, the views expressed can be interpreted as being representative of the tenants of the Borough.
The survey indicates that the tenant population is characterised by a significant proportion of elderly households and a high degree of economic inactivity. As the chart below demonstrates, just over a quarter of tenant households (27%) are families and just less than a third (32%) of households contain adults only, while 41% of households are pensioner households.
Household Type Profile
From the survey it is possible to make the following assumptions about the tenant profile of the Council's housing stock:
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57% of tenants are aged over 60;
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10% of tenants are aged 34 and younger;
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56% tenants are female;
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54% of households have a disabled or long-term sick household member;
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9% of households have a long-term sick household member who uses a wheel-chair.
As part of our benchmarking work, Market Research U.K provided comparisons of the key results of STATUS surveys for Gosport Borough Council and five other Local Authorities across the United Kingdom (four District Council's and one London Borough). As the table below demonstrates, satisfaction levels and ratings for every indicator are the highest for Gosport, in all but one instance.
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GOSPORT
BC |
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
% Who feel the Housing Department is
very good or fairly good at keeping
them informed |
88% |
82% |
67% |
78% |
65% |
85% |
% Who are very satisfied or fairly
satisfied with the overall services
provided by their landlord (BVPI 174) |
83% |
78% |
71% |
69% |
67% |
80% |
% Who are very satisfied or fairly
satisfied with the way the Housing
Department deals with repairs and
maintenance |
82% |
80% |
72% |
72% |
68% |
76% |
% Who think the rent for their homes
represents very good or fairly good
value for money |
77% |
76% |
67% |
63% |
66% |
83% |
% who are very satisfied or fairly
satisfied with the opportunities for
participation in management and
decision-making (BVPI 175) |
70% |
62% |
53% |
57% |
46% |
52% |
SOURCE: STATUS Surveys Conducted by Market Research UK in 2000/2001
Further benchmarking has taken place between Gosport and the sub-regions 'well above average' classified authorities, Southampton City Council and Portsmouth City Council, to establish the comparable levels of tenant satisfaction for the two Best Value Performance Indicators that will be the subject of national comparison. The Council again performed extremely well in this comparison, scoring higher in all areas.
Generally, the feedback given by the tenants in the survey is very positive and from the available comparative data from other Local Authorities, satisfaction with Gosport's housing service compares favourably. However, this research only provides an indication of satisfaction at a given point in time and it is therefore vital that the service continues the process of overall improvement that has been achieved in recent years.
Market Research UK's independent conclusion from this research exercise is: 'it is clear that tenants want the Council to give a high priority to maintaining services to at least the same standards as are currently provided'.
Implementing e-Government
It is evident that the world is in the midst of an "information age revolution" driven mainly by the Internet but supported or complemented by other technologies such as digital television, smart cards and mobile phones. This is having a major impact on service delivery in all areas of Government, not least within Local Government where the introduction of e-Government initiatives will enable citizens and other stakeholders to receive more focused, joined-up services, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, where practicable.
The Council has a long, successful record in the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to improve service delivery to the public. ICT now pervades all aspects of the Council's business and is increasingly vital to the effective and efficient delivery of services. The Council is fortunate in already having a modern, technical infrastructure, which will provide a sound basis for supporting the additional demands that will come about as the e-Government initiatives come on-line.
The Council has currently reached a position where it has successfully achieved a significant number of the elements of e-Government service delivery. These have been vital in providing a platform on which to build for the future by gaining experience in using the new technologies. Also, by exposing the public and staff to the benefits of electronic service delivery the Council is well placed to tackle the more strategic, crosscutting issues of modernising its services.
In line with Government objectives, the Council's Vision for service delivery in 2005 is to provide "joined-up" services, available electronically (where practicable) 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Council will, by 2005, have totally revamped the way in which it provides services to, and conducts business with, its citizens, businesses and visitors. The housing services unit, and its tenants, will be well placed to benefit from this corporate revolution.
As part of the corporate strategy, the ICT available to housing staff has been reviewed and a partner identified. Implementation is well underway, and the new system will allow significantly more data mining to occur. This will allow considerably more detailed information to be available to officers when making future planning decisions and will be key to the development of more detailed and informed Business Plans in the future.
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