16 February 2007
Local authorities need to make more of their successes, town hall leaders urged last week, after research showed that public satisfaction with council performance is diminishing.
The Audit Commission's Best Value User Satisfaction Survey 2006/07 report, published on February 8, showed that, while people were increasingly happy with individual council-run services, there was a decrease in overall satisfaction. For single and upper tier councils, just 51% of people were satisfied with the overall service – down by two percentage points since 2003/04.
Local Government Association chair Sandy Bruce-Lockhart said councils should do more to link themselves to their services. 'While unpopular services such as council tax demands and parking tickets are clearly branded, we are still witnessing important services, such as street-cleaning, carrying no mention of the local authority.'
The Department for Communities and Local Government said the survey showed that people who could become involved in public services were more likely to be satisfied with their council's performance.
Local Government Secretary Ruth Kelly said: 'The more people feel they can influence local issues the more they feel they can participate; and the more they feel informed, the happier they are with their council.'
PFfeb2007
