One out of three not happy with their councils

7 Feb 02
Just 65% of the public are happy with the overall service provided by their local authority, according to government data.

08 February 2002

Best Value Performance Indicators for 2000/01, rush-released on February 6, contained the results of the user satisfaction surveys that all councils must now conduct under the regime.

The surveys, which were conducted for the first time in 2000/01, showed that just over one in three people are either indifferent to the services provided by their local authority or actively dissatisfied with them.

The result suggests that the government's attempt to improve standards in the public services, in which Best Value is supposed to play a central role, is making slower progress than hoped.

Local government minister Nick Raynsford described the result as a 'good start', and claimed that the proposals in December's local government white paper would bring about further improvements. He added: 'There is still a long way to go before we achieve this government's objective of quality services across the board.'

But Matthew Warburton, head of futures at the Local Government Association, said people registered dissatisfaction with services for complex reasons. Some of these, he added, were not directly connected with the quality of provision.

'Clearly we would like the figure to be higher, but it's not bad in comparison with other public services,' he said. 'But people in deprived areas tend to be less satisfied. It's well known that satisfaction with public services goes up and down as the popularity of the government goes up and down. That applies to local government too.'

PFfeb2002

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