Agenda item

To receive the results of the Residents Survey 2024/25.

Councillor P Davis, Cabinet Member for Communities and Civic Pride, provided Cabinet with an update on the results of the Residents Survey that was carried out, in-house, between 15 November 2024 and 31 January 2025, which shared the feedback from services in response to the findings, set out the Council’s next steps and put forward recommendations for conducting future Residents Surveys. 

It was reported that this Residents Survey had been conducted to gather residents’ views on the borough as a place to live and made this an opportunity to refresh the Council’s data and help shape future policy and service provision. It was noted that this also reflected the Council’s cooperative values and commitment to shaping services through continuous engagement with residents.

Councillor Davis said that this survey had been one of over 100 surveys, which had been undertaken over the past two years.  He said that, as a co-operative Council, it did not listen every few years but had ongoing dialogue with its residents.  He added that the previous survey, carried out in 2020, had included the printing and posting to every household in the borough, which had attracted response levels of less than 7% and that feedback did not appear as representative of Telford’s communities as it might have been. 

Councillor Davis said that, as a result, and to refine the Council’s approach to ensure the views of the broad and diverse range of residents, a random sample of 300 households per ward across the borough (9,600 addresses in total) had been invited to take part.  He said that 1,384 responses (14.4%) had been received, which had been in line with LGA expectations.  He added that, alongside this, a dedicated Young Persons Survey, which attracted 103 responses, had provided a valuable insight into the views of 11- to 18-year-olds across the borough. 

Councillor Davis said that the covering report set out a summary of the main findings, which focussed on keeping residents informed, satisfaction with the Council services and the area as a place to live.  He said it should be noted that the latest local survey had provided overwhelmingly positive feedback on services in every area where comparable LGA benchmarking was available, in every case outperforming the averages. 

Councillor Davis said that when thinking about Council services, two-thirds of respondents (66%) said they were satisfied with the way the Council ran its business, which compared very favourably with the LGA figure of 56%.  Councillor Davis said satisfaction levels were particularly high in respect of recycling and waste (c.88%) (well above the LGA average), and whilst satisfaction levels with highways was only 46%, this was still much stronger than the LGA benchmark of 30%.  On communications, he said that 77% of residents felt well informed of the services and benefits the Council provided (nationally, this figure was 47%).  He said that this information told the Council that its efforts to keep people updated whether through print, online or community channels were being recognised.

Councillor Davis said that when it came to the issue of the borough as a place to live, three out of four (75%) respondents were satisfied with Telford and Wrekin as a place to live and 78% were satisfied with the borough’s local neighbourhood, both of which were above the LGA average.

Councillor Davis said that whilst satisfaction levels were higher in less deprived areas, residents who lived in the borough’s most deprived neighbourhoods were three times more likely to say their area had improved over the last two years, which was a clear sign that the Council’s investment in its communities was making a difference where it mattered most.

On listening to residents, Councillor Davis said that 41.4% agreed that the Council listened to their views, with a further third saying they did not know.  This, he said, was now an area the Council wanted to strengthen further since no matter where residents lived within the borough, it was important that their voices were heard.

Councillor David addressed some of the priorities residents had shared, which included:

• On highways, more maintenance on potholes and drainage (the Council was investing around £42m over the next four years on roads, footpaths, draining and structures).

• On planning and housing, more affordable housing and more empty homes being brought back into use.

• On greenspaces and play, protect, maintain and improve the borough’s parks and play areas.

Councillor Davis said the Council was working towards eight green flag awards with 89% of its households within 300m of accessible green space.  He added that the Council was also working to boost biodiversity, develop the local nature recovery strategy and work towards strategies for play and recreation.

Councillor Davis said that while these results were overwhelmingly positive, and every area the Council could benchmark exceeded the LGA average, he acknowledged the Council must not be complacent.  He said there were areas where residents wanted more from the Council and that was what it intended to deliver.

Councillor Davis said that the next steps were clear in that the Council would carry out further engagement sessions to deepen the Council’s understanding of feedback and respond in a targeted way; would build on the success of the young persons’ survey and strengthen its engagement with young people; develop an action plan with directors accountable for ensuring delivery across services; formally report back to residents using a clear “you said, we did” approach in order that residents knew how their voices were shaping decisions.

In conclusion, Councillor Davis said the Council was proposing to make the residents’ survey a regular biennial exercise to help track trends, identify emerging issues early and ensure services remained aligned with the borough’s communities.

Members said that checking in with residents and collating feedback from them was critical to make Telford and Wrekin a better Council and that the survey was key to this. 

In relation to feedback, Members said that this had been taken on board and had had been acted upon, which had recognised overwhelming support from residents in respect of services such as recycling, waste, parks, libraries and education etc.

RESOLVED that:

(a)  The results from the latest Residents Survey, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report, which highlighted the following findings, be noted:

·       70.1% of respondents felt Telford and Wrekin Council keep their residents informed.

·       78% of respondents were very/fairly satisfied with their local area as a place to live.

·       75% of respondents were satisfied with the borough of Telford and Wrekin as a place to live.

(b)  The overwhelmingly positive feedback from Telford and Wrekin residents, in comparison to the latest national benchmark - Local Government Association (LGA) Resident Satisfaction Survey – be noted.

(c)  The work being done by services to respond to the survey findings, as set out in section 4.11 to the report, be recognised.

(d)  The proposals for future Residents Surveys – as set out in section 4.12.6 to the report, be approved.