Charnwood Borough Council Equality Impact Assessment ... · The Corporate Plan 2016-2026 is a strategic plan which outlines what Charnwood Borough Council plans to deliver to the
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Charnwood Borough Council
Equality Impact Assessment ‘Knowing the needs of your customers and employees’
Background An Equality Impact Assessment is an improvement tool. It will assist you in ensuring that you have thought about the needs and impacts of your service/policy/function in relation to the protected characteristics. It enables a systematic approach to identifying and recording gaps and actions.
Legislation- Equality Duty As a local authority that provides services to the public, Charnwood Borough Council has a legal responsibility to ensure that we can demonstrate having paid due regard to the need to:
Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation
Advance Equality of Opportunity Foster good relations
For the following protected characteristics: 1. Age 2. Disability 3. Gender reassignment 4. Marriage and civil partnership 5. Pregnancy and maternity 6. Race 7. Religion and belief 8. Sex (Gender) 9. Sexual orientation
What is prohibited? 1. Direct Discrimination 2. Indirect Discrimination 3. Harassment 4. Victimisation 5. Discrimination by association 6. Discrimination by perception 7. Pregnancy and maternity discrimination 8. Discrimination arising from disability 9. Failing to make reasonable adjustments
Note: Complete the action plan as you go through the questions
Step 1 – Introductory information
Title of the policy Corporate Plan 2016-2020 (Draft for public consultation).
Name of lead officer and others undertaking this assessment
Helen Gretton Suzanne Kinder
Date EIA started October 2016
Date EIA completed December 2016
Step 2 – Overview of policy/function being assessed:
Outline: What is the purpose of this policy? (Specify aims and objectives)
The Corporate Plan 2016-2026 is a strategic plan which outlines what Charnwood Borough Council plans to deliver to the community over the next four years. It sets out the activity to be undertaken by the authority, and with partners, and identifies real and achievable targets, which in turn will create positive outcomes for individuals and communities in service design, delivery and employment.
What specific group/s is the policy designed to affect/impact and what is the intended change or outcome for them?
The whole population will be affected. The Corporate Plan 2016-2020 is an overarching document which is designed to create positive impacts for people who live, work and visit in the Borough. It should not have an adverse impact on any groups or individuals as its purpose is to make the Council’s practices and services more effective, fair and accessible for all.
Which groups have been consulted as part of the creation or review of the policy?
A resident’s survey was undertaken for 12 weeks, from July- October 2015. This was an opportunity to consult with residents across all of the protected characteristics throughout the Borough.
Specific consultation was also undertaken with individuals and community groups from each of the protected characteristics. This included face to face consultation with young people, older people and people with disabilities.
Results from other appropriate service specific consultations were also used to influence the content of the Corporate Plan 2016-2020.
Step 3 – What we already know and where there are gaps
List any existing information/data do you have/monitor about different diverse groups in relation to this policy? Such as in relation to age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy & maternity, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation etc.
Data/information such as:
Consultation Previous Equality Impact Assessments Demographic information Anecdotal and other evidence
1. Demographic information (based on Census 2011) which provides information on a range of the
protected characteristics, in particular, age, disability, race, religion or belief, sex.
2. Residents Survey (Summer 2015) which surveyed a cross range of residents across the borough of Charnwood.
3. Residents Survey (Summer 2015) with specific community groups based on the protected characteristics.
4. Various information based on service specific consultations and monitoring of services.
What does this information / data tell you about diverse group? If you do not hold or have access to any data/information on diverse groups, what do you need to begin collating / monitoring? (Please list)
This information and consultation informs the council of the specific needs and priorities of residents and service users, including all diverse groups across the Borough. The development of the Corporate Plan 2016-2020, ensures that the actions and objectives embedded within the plan provide positive outcomes for everyone living, working and visiting the Borough.
A potential barrier is access to and availability of relevant information on sexual orientation and gender reassignment from within the Council and from other organisations. As the Corporate Plan 2016-2020 is an overarching strategic document, this will not create any adverse impacts on any particular diverse group within the community, but when implementing the individual projects and initiatives within the plan it is important to consider collecting information in these areas in order to inform service delivery and to mitigate any potential adverse impact.
Step 4 – Do we need to seek the views of others? If so, who?
In light of the answers you have given in Step 2, do you need to consult with specific groups to identify needs / issues? If not please explain why.
Not in this circumstance. The Corporate Plan 2016-2020 is an overarching strategic plan which includes a number of initiatives and different projects which are designed to provide positive outcomes for the wider community. Further consultation for individual protected characteristics will take place as part of the ongoing development and implementation of these specific projects and initiatives which make up the Corporate Plan 2016-2020.
Step 5 – Assessing the impact
In light of any data/consultation/information and your own knowledge and awareness, please identify whether the policy has a positive or negative impact on the individuals or community groups (including what barriers these individuals or groups may face) who identify with any ‘protected characteristics’ and provide an explanation for your decision (please refer to the general duties on the front page).
Comments
Age
The actions and objectives set out in the Corporate Plan 2016-2020 are likely to have a positive impact on individuals and communities with regards to the protected characteristic of age. Specific initiatives have been included in the Corporate Plan to support vulnerable members of our community, including younger people and older people. This should create a greater positive impact on this protected characteristic.
Disability (Physical, visual, hearing, learning
disabilities, mental health)
The actions and objectives set out in the Corporate Plan 2016-2020 are likely to have a positive impact on individuals and communities with regards to the protected characteristic of disability. Specific initiatives have been included in the Corporate Plan to support vulnerable members of our community, including people with disabilities. This should create a greater positive impact on this protected characteristic. The publication of the Corporate Plan 2016-2020 will be provided in an accessible format if required and requested by specific individuals/ community groups.
Gender Reassignment (Transgender)
The actions and objectives set in the Corporate Plan 2016-2020 are likely to have a positive impact on individuals and communities with regards to the protected characteristic of gender reassignment. A potential barrier may be access to and availability of relevant information as there is little national and local information on gender re-assignment both within the Council and other organisations. Therefore, additional monitoring of this protected characteristic may be required.
Race The actions and objectives set out in the Corporate Plan 2016-2020 are likely to have a positive impact on individuals and communities with regards to the protected characteristic of race. The published Corporate Plan 2016-2020 will be available in alternative languages if required and requested by specific individuals/ community groups.
Religion or Belief (Includes no belief)
The actions and objectives set out in the Corporate Plan 2016-2020 are likely to have a positive impact on individuals and communities with regards to the protected characteristic of religion or belief.
Sex (Gender)
The actions and objectives set out in the Corporate Plan 2016-2020 are likely to have a positive impact on individuals and communities with regards to the protected characteristic of sex.
Sexual Orientation The actions and objectives set out in the Corporate Plan 2016-2020 are likely to have a positive impact on individuals and communities with regards to the protected characteristic of sexual orientation. A potential barrier may be access to and availability of relevant information as there is little national and local information on sexual orientation both within the Council and other organisations. Therefore, additional monitoring of this protected characteristic may be required.
Other protected groups (Pregnancy &
maternity, marriage & civil partnership)
The Corporate Plan 2016-2020 will provide positive impacts for all members of the community and this fully includes individuals within the protected characteristics of pregnancy & maternity and marriage & civil partnership.
Other socially excluded groups (carers, low literacy, priority
neighbourhoods, health inequalities, rural isolation, asylum seeker and refugee
communities etc.)
The actions and objectives within the Corporate Plan 2016- 2020 also cover a variety of other groups such as; rural isolation, deprived or disadvantaged communities (priority neighbourhoods), health inequality, asylum seeker and refugee communities. The specific actions in the Corporate Plan 2016-2020 are likely to have a positive impact on all individuals and communities. The Corporate Plan 2016-2020 aims to create inclusive communities and foster good community relations. Key initiatives are focussed on involving communities, giving them a voice and supporting them to be involved in decision making within their own communities. Therefore there is likely to be a further positive impact on individuals and communities with regards to community involvement and cohesion.
Where there are potential barriers, negative impacts identified and/ or barriers or impacts are unknown, please outline how you propose to minimise all negative impact or discrimination. Please note:
a) If you have identified adverse impact or discrimination that is illegal, you are required to take action to remedy this immediately.
b) Additionally, if you have identified adverse impact that is justifiable or legitimate, you will need to consider what actions can be taken to mitigate its effect on those groups of people.
Further consultation for individual protected characteristics will take place as part of the ongoing development and implementation of these specific projects and initiatives which make up the Corporate Plan 2016-2020.
Summarise your findings and give an overview as to whether the policy will meet Charnwood Borough Council’s responsibilities in relation to equality and diversity (please refer to the general duties on the front page).
The Corporate Plan 2016-2020 aims to provide positive impact for all individuals living, working and vising the Borough and therefore meets the Council’s responsibilities in relation to equality and diversity.
Step 6- Monitoring, evaluation and review
Are there processes in place to review the findings of this Assessment and make appropriate changes? In particular, how will you monitor potential barriers and any positive/ negative impact?
If any negative impacts occur/ potential barriers arise then this will be monitored and evaluated via our Corporate Customer Complaints Procedure. Where appropriate, individual Equality Impact Assessments will be conducted as part of the ongoing development and implementation of specific projects and initiatives which make up the Corporate Plan 2016-2020. This will seek to mitigate any barriers or adverse impact to any of the protected groups.
How will the recommendations of this assessment be built into wider planning and review processes? e.g. policy reviews, annual plans and use of performance management systems.
All actions within the Corporate Plan are monitored through the Annual Business Plan via the Council’s Performance Management System. This is monitored via the Council’s Corporate Management Team, Senior Management Team and Performance Scrutiny Panel and any negative impacts will be picked up through this scrutiny process.
Step 7- Action Plan
Please include any identified concerns/actions/issues in this action plan: The issues identified should inform your Service Plan and, if appropriate, your Consultation Plan
Reference Number
Action
Responsible Officer
Target Date
001
Further consider the protected characteristics of gender reassignment and sexual orientation when developing and implementing specific projects and initiatives within the Corporate Plan 2016-2020.
Heads of Service
in all service areas across Charnwood Borough Council
Ongoing
002
Further consider consultation for individual protected characteristics as part of the ongoing development and implementation of specific projects and initiatives which make up the Corporate Plan 2016-2020.
Heads of Service
in all service areas across Charnwood Borough Council
Ongoing
Step 8- Who needs to know about the outcomes of this assessment and how will they be informed?
Who needs to know (Please tick)
How they will be informed (we have a legal duty to publish EIA’s)
Employees
This EIA will be published on Charnwood Borough Council’s webpage and intranet. Service users, partners and stakeholders can also request this EIA in alternative formats if required.
Service users
Partners and stakeholders
Others
N/A N/A
To ensure ease of access, what other communication needs/concerns are
there?
N/A N/A
Step 9- Conclusion (to be completed and signed by the Service Head)
Please delete as appropriate
I agree / disagree with this assessment / action plan
If disagree, state action/s required, reasons and details of who is to carry them out with timescales:
Signed (Service Head):
Date:
Please send completed & signed assessment to Suzanne Kinder for publishing.
Insight through vision
www.crmr.co.uk
Report on the 2015
Residents Consultation
Prepared by CR Market Research
November 2015
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 1 November 2015
Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................... 2
Key Findings ........................................................................................................................ 3
Project Background ........................................................................................................... 4
Respondent Profile ............................................................................................................. 5
Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 9
Are Charnwood residents happy? .............................................................................. 9
What is important to Charnwood residents? ........................................................... 10
How satisfied are Charnwood residents? ................................................................. 12
Priorities versus Satisfaction ......................................................................................... 13
Overall satisfaction ...................................................................................................... 15
Are Charnwood’s communities cohesive? .............................................................. 16
Finding out about and accessing council services ................................................ 17
What are residents’ channel preferences? ............................................................. 19
Are residents satisfied with their experience when contacting the council? ..... 20
How would residents prefer to hear about services and council tax? ................ 21
Are residents happy with how CBC spends council tax? ...................................... 23
Do residents feel they can influence decision making? ........................................ 24
Do residents feel they can get involved in decision making? .............................. 26
Volunteering ................................................................................................................. 27
Appendix – Questionnaire Completion Rates ............................................................. 28
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 2 November 2015
Introduction
This report presents an analysis of the 2015 edition of the Charnwood Borough
Council Residents Survey. As in our previous exercises, in 2011 and 2013, CR Market
Research is pleased to present our analysis of the information that has been
gathered and hope the insight we have provided will help improve the Council’s
understanding of the current issues affecting residents of the borough.
Although there have been some small changes to the structure of the
questionnaire on this occasion, we have provided comparisons with previous results
where we can. We are delighted to present this analysis and hope that Charnwood
Borough Council will find this report both interesting and informative.
Rose Collin
Sales & Marketing Director
CR Market Research
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 3 November 2015
Key Findings
The overriding message from many of the themes covered in this survey is that
residents appear to be relatively less satisfied than they were two years ago. In
some cases, the changes reported are not significant and simply reflect different
sample groups; on other occasions the changes are statistically significant and will
be areas the Council may want to explore in more detail.
Key findings include:
1. The percentage of residents that say they are ‘very happy’ living in the
borough has fallen from 48% to 34%, and overall happiness levels have
dropped from 94% to 87%.
2. Residents priorities are increasingly concentrating around a small number of
themes, with the top three of safety, cleanliness/tidiness of the local area and
rubbish collection standards all increasing as priorities since 2013. In particular,
‘Cleanliness and tidiness in my local area’ has increased significantly as a
priority, from 30% in 2013 to 49% in 2015
3. Satisfaction with individual themes has improved for only four of the twelve
factors since the last survey. There has been a significant decline in one
particular area – the availability of housing that residents can afford to rent
4. Overall, 82% of residents are satisfied with the way CBC delivers its services
(85% in 2013). Around one in eight residents are ‘very satisfied’. Just more than
15% say they are dissatisfied, compared with 12% in the last survey.
5. There is a weaker sense of community cohesion, with 67% saying they felt their
local area was a place where different backgrounds got on well together.
This represents a statistically significant fall on the 78% reported in 2013.
6. In terms of channel preferences, there is a clear increase in the proportion of
residents that would use the Council’s website (from 22% to 37% in 2015). There
has been a converse, albeit smaller, decrease in those opting for telephone
as a preferred channel.
7. Similarly, there is now a much greater interest in using the website as means
of receiving communication from the Council. Traditional ‘hard copy’ media
such as magazines and posters are less popular, although leaflets remain the
most preferred method.
8. Only 12% of residents feel it is easy to influence local decision making, down
slightly on 2013.
9. Finally, residents were asked if they would be interested in participating in
volunteering activity. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is more interest in getting
involved in things like customer panels than there is in active volunteering.
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 4 November 2015
Project Background
Charnwood Borough Council commissioned CR Market Research to conduct an
on-line consultation exercise with residents of the borough during the period July to
October 2015. This repeats similar exercises conducted in 2011 and 2013, and we
have provided comparative analysis with previous surveys wherever possible.
As in previous years, the research has a number of key objectives:
To update some of the indicators contained in the 2011 and 2013 Residents
Survey.
To provide insight for the Business Planning process.
To provide resident satisfaction data to senior management and members to
help Charnwood continue to improve service delivery.
The survey consisted of around thirty questions including monitoring details (age,
ethnicity, residence, disability, gender and faith).
A total of 1,078 residents completed the survey in 2015. This compares to 806 in
2013.
We have also gathered the postcode of each respondent. This has been
converted to ward level data and mapped (see page 9). In 2013, we aggregated
the ward level data to Area Forums in order to provide some geographical
breakdown. We understand these Forums no longer exist and that type of analysis
is no longer applicable. We have included one ward-level map, identifying priority
themes for each area, but this needs to be treated with caution due to the sample
sizes involved.
This year, we have also been asked to identify how many respondents participated
from designated priority areas. This is detailed on page 9.
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CR Market Research 5 November 2015
Respondent Profile
In order to set the following results in context, it is important to understand the make-
up of the respondent sample to this survey. This first section provides an overview
of the diversity of the sample obtained, across the standard equalities streams.
Age & Gender Age Female Male Prefer not to say Total
15 and under 0 0.0% 1 0.1% 44 4.1% 45 4.2%
16-18 1 0.1% 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 1 0.1%
20-29 6 0.6% 10 0.9% 0 0.0% 16 1.5%
30-39 53 4.9% 24 2.2% 0 0.0% 77 7.1%
40-49 79 7.3% 49 4.5% 4 0.4% 132 12.2%
50-59 91 8.4% 67 6.2% 1 0.1% 159 14.7%
60-69 127 11.8% 103 9.6% 1 0.1% 231 21.4%
70-79 118 10.9% 147 13.6% 1 0.1% 266 24.7%
80+ 35 3.2% 59 5.5% 1 0.1% 95 8.8%
Prefer not to say 8 0.7% 4 0.4% 44 4.1% 56 5.2%
Grand Total 518 48.1% 464 43.0% 96 8.9% 1,078 100.0%
Ethnicity White British 889 82.5%
White Irish 10 0.9%
Other White 34 3.2%
Multiple heritage black African and White 2 0.5%
Multiple heritage Asian and White 1 0.1%
Multiple heritage black Caribbean and White 3
Mixed Other 0 0.0%
Black British 0 0.0%
Other Black background 0 0.0%
Asian or Asian British Indian 15 1.4%
Asian or Asian British other 3 0.3%
Chinese 0 0.0%
Gypsy/Romany/Irish Traveller 1 0.1%
Other ethnic group 0 0.0%
Prefer not to say 120 11.1%
Total 1,078 100.0%
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CR Market Research 6 November 2015
Religion Christian 570 52.9%
Hindu 15 1.4%
Muslim 1 0.1%
Sikh 0 0.0%
Buddhism 6 0.6%
Other 28 2.6%
No religious belief 291 27.0%
Prefer not to say 167 15.5%
Total 1,078 100.0%
Disability (respondents could tick more than one category) None 784 72.7%
Learning disability 2 0.2%
Sensory impairment 27 2.5%
Longstanding health problem 67 6.2%
Mental health problem 14 1.3%
Physical disability 74 6.9%
Other 20 1.9%
Prefer not to say 120 11.1%
Sexual Orientation Heterosexual/Straight 833 77.3%
Bisexual 16 1.5%
Gay 8 0.7%
Lesbian 4 0.4%
Prefer not to say 217 20.1%
Total 1,078 100.0%
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 7 November 2015
Wards
We can also note the geographical distribution of respondents. Using the postcode provided by the respondent, we have
generated totals for each of the 28 wards in the borough. All have at least one respondent, although the volumes involved do
not permit us to generate robust analysis at this level of detail. The table below provides Ward figures and the map illustrates the
distribution of all respondents across the borough.
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 8 November 2015
Priority Areas
Following the update in 2010 of the Indices of
Multiple Deprivation Charnwood’s five Priority
Neighbourhoods were confirmed. These
Neighbourhoods are predominately in areas
of social housing where income deprivation is
significant and crime and ASB are often
common occurrences. The residents of these
areas are often disengaged from regular
statutory services and are often reluctant to
participate in consultations and feedback.
The Council has helped to build improved
community engagement and has seen an
increase in contact particularly through the
Community Hubs and resident groups.
Officers have encouraged people to have
their say and have supported the various
consultations where possible.
A total of 170 respondents that reside in these
Priority Neighbourhoods participated in the
survey, representing 16% of all respondents.
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 9 November 2013
Analysis
This main section of the report provides an overview of the survey results and
identifies some key messages for Charnwood Borough Council to consider.
Are Charnwood residents happy?
Respondents were asked how happy they were living in their local area. Figure 1
presents overall happiness figures for the borough as a whole.
Figure 1
Nearly nine in ten respondents (87%) regard themselves as at least ‘happy’ living
within the borough. This is down on the 2013 figure of 94% and, based on the
sample sizes we used, represents a statistically significant fall. Of particular interest
will be the drop in the proportion that are ‘very happy’, from 48% to 34%.
Around five per cent of respondents are unhappy, similar to 2013 (6%),
36%
59%
3%
0%1%
48%46%
4%2%
1%
34%
53%
4%
1% 1%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Very happy Happy Unhappy Very unhappy Don't know
2011 2013 2015
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 10 November 2015
What is important to Charnwood residents?
Respondents were asked to identify which factors were most important in making
somewhere a good place to live, and were asked to choose three from a list of
twelve different themes. Figure 2 presents the proportion of residents that selected
each issue. Figures do not sum to 100% as respondents were able to select more
than one option.
Figure 2
As in 2011 and 2013, the most valued factor is personal safety, with nearly three
quarters of all respondents selecting ‘Feeling safe in my home and the local area’
as one of their three priorities. The second most important factor was ‘Cleanliness
and tidiness in my local area’; this has increased significantly from 30% in 2013 to
49% in 2015.
In 2015, it appears that views are stronger around a smaller number of priority
themes, rather than spread across a large number. This year, the three themes with
the highest percentages averaged 53% each, compared to 44% in the last survey.
7%
8%
18%
17%
21%
15%
35%
18%
29%
27%
31%
64%
4%
5%
13%
14%
14%
13%
43%
26%
36%
33%
30%
70%
4%
5%
8%
10%
18%
19%
22%
26%
31%
36%
49%
73%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
The availability of housing that you can afford to rent
Enough homes in the borough
A variety of entertainment and cultural facilities
Being able to go to sports and leisure facilities
Encouraging local prosperity, business and jobs
Looking after the environment
A variety of shops and markets
Good access to transport and parking
Being able to go to looked after parks & green
spaces
My rubbish collected on a regular and reliable basis
The cleanliness and tidiness of my local area
Feeling safe in my home and the local area
2015
2013
2011
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 11 November 2013
Figure 3
We have been asked to
include a map illustrating
the three top priorities in
each Ward (see Figure 3). It
should be noted that the
sample sizes in some wards
are very small indeed (as
listed on page 8), although
it is noteworthy that ‘Feeling
safe in my home and the
local area’ emerges as the
top priority in every single
ward.
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 12 November 2013
How satisfied are Charnwood residents?
Using the same list of twelve issues, respondents were then asked to state how
satisfied they were with each. Figure 4 presents these results, with issues sorted by
the proportion of residents that are at least ‘satisfied’ with the issue in 2015.
Figure 4
The broad pattern of satisfaction is similar to the one we observed in 2013.
However, only four of the twelve themes have seen an improvement in satisfaction
since the last survey. Satisfaction for the three key factors (safety, parks/green
spaces and rubbish collections) remains high at around 90% for each.
There has been a significant decline in one particular area – the availability of
housing that residents can afford to rent.
33%
45%
43%
68%
75%
78%
73%
72%
70%
82%
84%
86%
33%
53%
46%
68%
65%
77%
76%
77%
74%
87%
87%
92%
21%
52%
58%
64%
69%
71%
71%
74%
75%
85%
86%
93%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
The availability of housing that you can afford to rent
Enough homes in the borough
Encouraging local prosperity, business and jobs
Being able to go to sports and leisure facilities
A variety of entertainment and cultural facilities
Good access to transport and parking
A variety of shops and markets
The cleanliness and tidiness of my local area
Looking after the environment
Feeling safe in my home and the local area
Being able to go to looked after parks & green
spaces
My rubbish collected on a regular and reliable basis
Percentage of respondents satisfied with factor - 2015
Percentage of respondents satisfied with factor - 2013
Percentage of respondents satisfied with factor - 2011
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 13 November 2013
Priorities versus Satisfaction
A useful piece of analysis is review the relationship between these two sets of figures; importance and satisfaction. Specifically, we
seek to identify whether factors that are considered to be important in making somewhere a good place to live also scored well in
terms of satisfaction. Figure 5 presents satisfaction scores along one axis and importance along the other.
Figure 5
With this type of analysis any themes in the lower right quadrant
would potentially be areas for improvement. These are factors
above average in importance but below average in satisfaction
(the pink lines denote average scores on each axis). As Figure 5
demonstrates, there are no factors within this part of the diagram,
suggesting that there are no significant areas of concern for
Charnwood to address. As in 2013, the factor closest to entering
this quadrant is ‘good access to transport and parking’; if CBC
were seeking an area to prioritise, this might be a valid option.
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 14 November 2013
Respondents were also provided with the opportunity to add comments and
provide more detail behind the answers they gave to these questions. Some
examples are listed below to provide an indication of the type of issue that causes
concern for Charnwood residents. More detail is available in the raw dataset.
“I am lucky enough to buy my own home, but I am aware that there are
not enough council flats. And I may need to live in sheltered
accommodation or a home when I am old.” (Loughborough Hastings)
“Would like to see more high street/higher end shops in the area, I think
we have enough takeaway, charity and "pound" style shops locally.
Would like to see less empty shops.” (Ward not provided)
“Town is looking tatty; lots of empty shops altogether run down.”
(Loughborough Lemyngton)
“A complete lack leisure facilities in Shepshed underlines a lack of care
shown by the council towards Shepshed.” (Shepshed West)
“The markets are fantastic and should be more of a selling point for the
town.” (Loughborough Lemyngton)
“Access to green spaces is rapidly being eroded by poor planning
policies. Planners do not take any notice of residents; applications go on
for years; the allocation of conservation status means nothing.” (Ward
not provided)
“Too many coffee shops / cafes etc. Not enough support for community
groups. The assumption that everyone has access to a car when
positioning larger shops etc.” (Loughborough Hastings)
“Being senior citizens we do need to know that our wellbeing is
considered when decisions are made which affect us.” (Sileby)
“I am very proactive in reporting anything, bins not emptied etc, rubbish
around streets, dustbins left out on pavements for days and days and I
have to say everything I have every reported is dealt with very swiftly,
thank you. The range of waste and recycling is brilliant as is the
collection; I compare it to my daughter's in Buckinghamshire and hers is
literally 'rubbish' (no pun intended!) by comparison, long may it
continue.” (Shepshed East)
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 15 November 2015
Overall satisfaction
As in 2013, residents were asked to state how satisfied they are in overall terms with
the way the Council runs things.
Figure 6
Figures in 2015 are almost identical to those reported in 2013. Overall, 82% of
residents are satisfied with the way CBC delivers its services (85% in 2013). Around
one in eight residents are ‘very satisfied’. Just more than 15% say they are
dissatisfied, compared with 12% in the last survey.
14.9%
69.7%
9.3%
3.3% 2.7%
13.2%
68.5%
11.4%
4.0% 3.0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Very satisfied Fairly satisfied Fairly dissatisfied Very dissatisfied Don't know
2013 2015
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 16 November 2013
Are Charnwood’s communities cohesive?
Residents were then asked whether they felt their local area was a place where
different backgrounds got on well together. We have seen a decrease in the
proportion saying ‘yes’ in both 2013 and 2015, falling from 78% in 2011 to 67% this
year. This represents a statistically significant change, indicating we are seeing a
genuine change in views on this topic and not the result of statistical artefact.
The percentage saying ‘no’ to this question has not changed significantly, meaning
we are seeing a shift from ‘yes’ to ‘don’t know’.
Figure 7
78%
73%
67%
14%
18%
22%
8%
10%
11%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
2011
2013
2015
Yes Don't Know No
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 17 November 2015
Finding out about and accessing council services
The next question examined whether residents felt they could easily find out about
and access the services provided by Charnwood Borough Council.
Figure 8 presents the percentage of respondents that feel it is easy / not easy at
the borough level.
Figure 8
Overall, 79% of respondents feel it is at least ‘easy’ to find out about services
provided by CBC. This is very similar to the comparative figure for 2013, 82%,
although there has been a fall decrease in the percentage rating this as ‘very easy’
since 2013.
Just 10% felt it was hard to find out the information, but we have seen an increasing
proportion of respondents saying they do not know, implying a falling share of
residents are finding cause to try and access Council services.
15%
67%
11%
2%
5%
24%
58%
7%
2%
8%
21%
58%
8%
2%
11%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Very easy Quite easy Quite hard Very hard Don't know
2011 2013 2015
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 18 November 2015
Those respondents that felt it was hard to find out information were then asked to
provide more details. Here are some of the comments made.
“Accessing the correct part of the organisation by phone is convoluted
and unintuitive. Staff take a long time to respond.” (Sileby resident,
aged 45-54)
“Because we have no amenities that are local for us, we have to use
cars or public transport, no parking facilities if we want to shop in
Shepshed unless you park at the supermarket which then makes it hard
for the supermarket shoppers to shop as the car park is full. No leisure
faculties for teenagers to go etc.” (Shepshed West resident, aged 45-54)
“Difficult to know what is going on without internet. Too much reliance
on that and lack of face to face.” (Quorn and Mountsorrel Castle
resident, aged 55-64)
“It is not very clear; you have to go through quite a few webpages to
actually get to where you want to get to. Also if you want to talk
specifically and have asked for this to a department through the call
centre they do not put you forward, and just give you vivid answers really
puts you off from contacting the council.” (Loughborough Southfields
resident, aged 20-29)
“I have no idea what local facilities there are and lived here for 2 years.”
(Birstall Wanlip resident, aged 25-34)
“I would have no idea where to start. What information there is tends to
be centred around Loughborough. The Syston end tends to be
neglected.” (Syston West resident, age not provided)
“Most services are centralised, mainly in Loughborough. Other areas of
Charnwood are largely forgotten about. To catch a bus to my local
leisure centre in Mountsorrel takes almost an hour. I could drive there in
10 minutes. This is because the bus routes are based on getting to and
from Leicester and to and from Loughborough. Where bus services exist
between neighbouring villages they only run every few hours meaning
you either have to walk back, pay for a taxi, or wait hours.” (Anstey
resident, aged 35-44)
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 19 November 2015
What are residents’ channel preferences?
Respondents were asked for their views on which forms of communication they
would use to report a problem to the council. Figure 9 presents the results; figures
do not add up to 100% as respondents were able to choose more than one option.
This year, for the first time, respondents were able to choose ‘social media’ as an
option.
Figure 9
The same broad pattern of preferences appears, with channel types in the same
ranking order as in 2013. However, there is a clear increase in the proportion of
residents that would use the Council’s website (from 22% to 37% in 2015). There has
been a converse, albeit smaller, decrease in those opting for telephone as a
preferred channel.
Four in ten respondents said they would use email; similar to 2013 but it is perhaps
interesting to note there hasn’t been an increase in preferences for this method
over the past four years.
One in six would use the face-to-face channel via a council office.
73%
43%
23%
20%
11%
5%3%
72%
40%
22%
17%
7%5%
1%
64%
38%37%
16%
12%
3% 4%3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Telephone Email Through the
website
Going into
the office
Councillor Through
staff (i.e.
housing
officer)
Social
Media
None of the
above
2011 2013 2015
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 20 November 2015
Are residents satisfied with their experience when contacting the
council?
During the past twelve months, 76% of respondents said that they had contacted
the council. Of these, the notable majority of residents (77%) are satisfied with the
experience they have had when contacting Charnwood Borough Council. This is
similar to the figure taken from the 2011 and 2013 reports (83% and 80%
respectively).
Figure 10 (n=815)
Although overall satisfaction levels are similar to 2013, there has been a shift within
this away from the ‘very satisfied’ end of the scale towards ‘fairly satisfied’.
15%
68%
12%
4%
36%
44%
12%
8%
27%
50%
14%
9%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Very satisfied Fairly satisfied Fairly dissatisfied Very dissatisfied
2011 2013 2015
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 21 November 2015
How would residents prefer to hear about services and council
tax?
When asked what communication techniques would be most effective when the
council wishes to share information on services and council tax, we see continued
change in residents’ preferences. As identified in Figure 9, there is now a much
greater interest in using the website as means of receiving communication, leap-
frogging emails and the Council magazine in terms of rankings. Traditional ‘hard
copy’ media such as magazines and posters are less popular, although leaflets
remain the most preferred method.
Figure 11
Social media is still relatively unpopular compared with other channels, although it
continues to increase each year.
3%
3%
4%
5%
7%
20%
21%
39%
26%
58%
2%
5%
16%
14%
10%
28%
37%
44%
29%
44%
2%
6%
10%
11%
14%
28%
33%
35%
37%
45%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
None of the above
Texts (SMS)
Magazines
Posters
Facebook or Twitter
Local media
Council magazine
Website
Leaflet / Letter
2015
2013
2011
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 22 November 2015
Are residents happy with how CBC keeps them informed?
Residents were asked how satisfied they were with how the council keeps them
informed about their services. Figure 12 presents the headline results.
Figure 12
In 2013 we reported that 80% of respondents said they were happy with the way
the Council communicated with them. This year the figure has fallen to 72%,
representing a statistically significant fall in satisfaction.
The percentage that say they are dissatisfied has not increased that much, from
15% to 18%, but there has been an increase in the ‘don’t know’ category.
4%
71%
15%
2%
7%
12%
68%
12%
3%5%
10%
62%
15%
3%
10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Very satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied Don't know
2011 2013 2015
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 23 November 2015
Are residents happy with how CBC spends council tax?
Respondents were then asked how satisfied they were with how their council tax is
spent.
Figure 13
Again, there has been a reported decrease in the proportion of respondents that
are satisfied with the way in which council tax is spent, from 77% to 74%, although
on this occasion the change is not statistically significant.
There has actually also been a small decrease in the share that are dissatisfied,
meaning an increase in the proportion that say they do not know.
2%
52%
21%
6%
20%18%
59%
13%
4% 5%
15%
59%
12%
5%
10%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Very satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied Don't know
2011 2013 2015
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 24 November 2015
Do residents feel they can influence decision making?
This is a theme that has been assessed for a number of years, even prior to the
current version of the survey. Residents are asked whether they feel it is easy to
influence decisions that might affect them.
Figure 14
There has been a small decrease in the percentage of respondents that feel it is
easy to influence local decision making, from 16% to 12%. As in 2013 and 2011,
most residents still feel it is hard to sway these issues. Over the course of the three
surveys, the percentage that feel it is very hard to influence local decision making
has risen from 20% to 29%, a statistically significant increase.
0%
12%
45%
20%
24%
3%
13%
31%
25%
28%
1%
11%
33%
29%
25%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
Very easy Fairly easy Quite hard Very hard Don't know
2011 2013 2015
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 25 November 2015
Respondents were asked to provide more detail behind their answer to the
previous question. Here are some of the comments made.
“Although residents have opportunities to fill in surveys, attend public
meetings, have their say etc, it feels like we are not really listened to in
the end, and things happen regardless.” (Loughborough Garendon
resident)
“Anstey feels out of Charnwood as were quite away from
Loughborough and so near to Leicester, so it feels like we are not part of
the loop.” (Anstey resident)
“Decisions are taken behind closed doors that are rarely changed as a
result of public opinion. Many believe, as I do that, the Council is run by
a cabal that refuses to listen to arguments contrary to its own interests.
Democracy - what democracy?” (Loughborough Dishley and Hathern
resident)
“it seems that when people ring or call into Council Offices things still do
not get done which is very frustrating indeed.” (Syston West resident)
“CBC Planning Department consistently over-rides local wishes and also
the parish council. Quorn was a proper country village when we moved
here in 1980. It is now an ugly, small town with an inadequate supply of
local services. It is Charnwood Planning Department that is almost
entirely to blame for this.” (Quorn and Mountsorrel Castle resident)
“Council do not listen to the general public! Seems they do what house
builders want them to do.” (Sileby resident)
“Despite massive objections by people especially the core strategy the
council went ahead, backed down, didn't support the residents and we
are about to be hit with massive house building, destruction of green
spaces and traffic gridlock as of result of the selfishness, decisions
already made and totally apathy by this corrupt council.”
(Loughborough Dishley and Hathern resident)
“I think the Council has a planned path to follow and isn't influenced
much by opinions from residents.” (Loughborough Outwoods resident)
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 26 November 2015
Do residents feel they can get involved in decision making?
An associated question then asks residents how satisfied they were with the
opportunity to get involved in local decision making.
Figure 15
Responses to this question are almost identical to those reported in 2013, with 31%
of stating that they are satisfied with the opportunity to get involved in local
decision-making. This represents a small but insignificant decrease on the last survey
(32%).
1%
35%
26%
8%
30%
4%
28%
24%
13%
30%
3%
28%27%
15%
27%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Very satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied Don't know
2011 2013 2015
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 27 November 2015
Volunteering
The final set of questions asked residents for their interest in getting involved in local
decision making in a range of ways. Figure 16 presents the overall results for the
borough as a whole, with a comparison with the 2011 and 2013 results. This year,
the Area Forums option was replaced with “Get more involved in local decision
making e.g. through customer panels” so there is no historical data for that specific
option.
Get more involved in
local decision making
e.g. through customer
panels
Volunteering to
improve the
local area
Volunteering to
help run local
facilities
Figure 16
Perhaps unsurprisingly, there is more interest in getting involved in things like
customer panels than there is in active volunteering. One quarter of respondents
said they are already involved this way or would be interested in doing so in the
future.
Finally, we asked whether respondents would simply be willing to volunteer on a
general basis. There would appear to be a pool of around 6% of residents that
might be encouraged to get more involved, in addition to the 10% that say they
are already involved.
76%83%
89% 91%86% 90%
92%
19% 9%
7% 6%8%
8%3%
5% 8%4% 4% 6% 4% 4%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2011 2013 2015 2011 2013 2015 2011 2013 2015
Already involved
Want to get involved
No / Don't know
Insight through vision
CR Market Research 28 November 2015
Appendix – Questionnaire Completion Rates
For those respondents that commenced but not did complete the full
questionnaire, Charnwood Council expressed an interest in identifying how far
individual respondents were getting through the questionnaire before opting out.
This might provide some insight into whether certain questions were dissuading
residents from participating in the survey.
The table below details how many respondents completed each question before
dropping out.
Question Missed
Question
Remaining
Respondents
% of Starting
Total
Started Survey - 1,215 100.0%
Postcode (clearly incorrect/out of area) 6 1,209 99.5%
How happy are you with living in the area? 50 1,159 95.4%
What are the three most important things
to you in the list below? 0 1,159 95.4%
Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are
you with the way the Council runs things? 39 1,120 92.2%
How satisfied are you with each of the
following? 0 1,120 92.2%
Do you feel that your local area is a place
where people from different backgrounds
get on well together?
3 1,117 91.9%
How easy is it for you to use / access the
services provided by the Council? 0 1,117 91.9%
How would you report a problem to the
Council if you needed to? 5 1,112 91.5%
How would you prefer to hear about our
services? 4 1,108 91.2%
How satisfied are you with how the Council
keeps you informed about our services? 10 1,098 90.4%
How satisfied are you with how our portion
of your council tax is spent? 0 1,098 90.4%
Do you feel it is easy to influence decisions
that might affect you in Charnwood? 4 1,094 90.0%
How satisfied are you with how you can
get involved in local decision making? 16 1,078 88.7%
Are you or would you like to get more
involved to... 0 1,078 88.7%
Where did you find out about this survey? 0 1,078 88.7%
Final Dataset 1,078
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