20 February 2004
Most public services are poor or adequate at best and are not improving, according to a poll of business leaders.
A survey by the Institute of Directors revealed that 51% of more than 500 respondents rated councils' administration of the planning process as poor or very poor, while 57% said they were dissatisfied with the quality of road and highways maintenance.
In addition, 40% of respondents rated both business rate administration and town halls' economic development work as poor.
Other key services, including the NHS, police and waste collection, were rated as adequate.
But there were high levels of praise for the fire and rescue services, with 74% of businesses describing them as good or very good.
It was also felt that most services, including waste disposal, the NHS, the police and education were not improving.
Geraint Day, a policy analyst at the IoD, said the government should take notice of the findings.
'As far as business is concerned, there is a feeling there is still a long road to travel before we see an improvement in public services,' he said.
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