By Richard Johnstone | 22 May 2014
Satisfaction with council services has remained steady over the last 18 months, a poll by the Local Government Association has found, with more than two-thirds of people either very or fairly satisfied with how things are run.
According to a survey of 1,000 residents, 70% of people are pleased with how their local council operates, up from 69% in the previous poll last April and down just 2 percentage points from September 2012, despite town hall funding cuts.
In addition more than three-quarters (77%) of people said they trusted local councils more than government to take decisions about how services were provided in their local area, up from 71% last October.
Peter Fleming, chair of the LGA’s improvement and innovation board, said the figures showed local government was one of the most trusted parts of the public sector and has kept this reputation despite a difficult financial climate and rising expectations and demand.
The LGA also published an update on its sector-led improvement programme, which is intended to bring councils together to provide support to each other and take collective responsibility following plans for the abolition of the Audit Commission.
As part of the programme, more than 350 peer challenges have been conducted between April 2011 and March 2014, as well as training and development for more than 2,000 councillors. This has led to savings in excess of £400m through the LGA’s productivity programme, while the LG Inform scheme has provided performance and finance data to both councils and the public.
Both the public polling and performance indicators indicate the success of sector-led improvement, Fleming said.
‘The achievements of councils through the sector-led improvement approach demonstrate its success and shows what councils can achieve by working together and supporting one another rather than through external inspection and targets.
‘We hope the government will take the results of the sector-led improvement evaluation as a vote of confidence in the approach and will continue to work with councils to enable them to build on their work.
‘Government funding for councils has declined by 40% since 2010 and, in the midst of such reductions and substantial pressures on services, the good work of local authorities and the sector-led improvement approach should not only be recognised but praised and promoted.’
