Place Survey 2008

Purpose	The Place Survey is a new postal survey that all county, district and metropolitan councils, and all London boroughs are required to complete. The survey collects 18 of the government's national indicators to measure performance in local authorities and their partnerships. The survey was run jointly between the Lancashire Partnership, Lancashire County Council and the twelve district councils in the county.
Subject	All services
Commissioned by	Consortium of Lancashire authorities (county council and 12 district councils) and the Lancashire Partnership

Geographic area	All of Lancashire
Method	Questionnaire - postal
Consultation with	General public
Date	10/10/2007 - 17/01/2008
Undertaken by	Ipsos MORI

Results

Number in sample	45660
Number of responses	16604
Response rate	36%
Key findings	People and communities theme * The quality of life factors that Lancashire residents consider most important to improve locally are to provide activities for teenagers (45%), road and pavement maintenance (38%) and traffic congestion (30%). * Four in five residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live (79%). There are wide variations by district ranging from 60% satisfied in Pendle to 94% in Ribble Valley. * The proportion satisfied with their local area is strongly linked to the level of deprivation. Nine in ten people who live in the least deprived 20% of areas are satisfied, while this falls to only three in five people satisfied in the 20% most deprived areas of the county (57%). * About three-quarters of respondents expressing an opinion answer that people from different backgrounds get along in their local area (74%). By district, Pendle, Burnley, Hyndburn and Rossendale are significantly lower on this measure than the other districts in the county. * Three in five respondents feel they belong to their neighbourhood (63%), but just over a quarter of people feel they can influence local decisions (28%). Community safety * One person in five across the county is calculated to rate anti-social behaviour (ASB) as high locally (19%). Most districts have seen significant falls in the combined measure of ASB. However, only a minority consider that local agencies are successfully dealing with anti-social behaviour (30%). * Perceived anti-social behaviour is very strongly linked to the level of local deprivation. A person living in one of the 20% most deprived areas in the county is seven times as likely to rate ASB as high as someone in one of the 20% least deprived areas (45% and 6% respectively). * Respondents are more likely to think that crime has increased locally in the last two years than decreased (30% and 18% respectively). This is despite the total number of recorded crimes between 2006/7 and 2008/9 actually falling by 15%. Health and wellbeing * Overall three-quarters of respondents say their health is good (74%), and this links very strongly with age and deprivation. Seven Lancashire districts are in the bottom quartile nationally for this measure, as is the county overall. * The Lancashire survey asked an additional set of questions looking at mental health. This measure is most strongly linked to self-perceived overall health. Economic development * One in five respondents to the survey have an undergraduate degree, the same proportion as have no formal qualifications (20% and 19%). More than a quarter of respondents would consider working towards a new qualification in the next three years. Perceptions of local services and the county council * Satisfaction with local services varies from four in five people satisfied with fire and rescue (83%) and the local GP (82%) to less than three in five satisfied with the local police force (57%). * How well informed residents feel is closely linked to satisfaction with local services. Residents who feel informed by local services are half as likely again to be satisfied with police services as those who are not informed. * Two in five residents are satisfied with the county council overall (40%), which compares with an average satisfaction level across all England councils of 45%. The two strongest predictors of satisfaction with the county council are a respondent's perceived value for money the county council provides, followed by their satisfaction with their district council.
Outcomes	Data were submitted to the Audit Commission, who assessed each project on behalf of the Department of Communities and Local Government (CLG).

Project document(s)

Report(s)

Presentation(s)

Place survey presentation

Contact information

For more information about this research contact:

Mike Walker
01772 533445
mike.walker@lancashire.gov.uk

Rebecca Robinson
01772 537787
rebecca.robinson@lancashire.gov.uk

Mick Edwardson
01772 530290
mick.edwardson@lancashire.gov.uk

Email: haveyoursay@lancashire.gov.uk