Living in Lancashire wave 34
| Purpose | This wave of Living in Lancashire looked at people's views on public transport, roads and streets, childcare and views about neighbourhoods. |
|---|---|
| Subject |
Public transport Road and pavement maintenance and repairs Families and younger children Other topic |
| Commissioned by | Corporate Research and Intelligence Team |
| Geographic area |
All of Lancashire |
|---|---|
| Method |
Questionnaire - online Questionnaire - postal |
| Consultation with |
Life in Lancashire panel |
| Date | 07/09/2011 - 14/10/2011 |
| Undertaken by | Corporate Research and Intelligence Team |
Results
| Number in sample | 3240 |
|---|---|
| Number of responses | 2208 |
| Response rate | 68% |
| Key findings | Public transport - Less than half of respondents currently use bus services in Lancashire (44%). Respondents aged 60 and over are the most likely to use bus services (61%). - A quarter of bus users have used buses to commute to work in the past 12 months (26%). - The main reasons given that prevent bus users who work using buses to commute are that the journey times on public transport are too long compared to other forms of transport (32%) and the cost of the service is too high compared to alternative modes of transport (27%). Roads and streets - Two fifths of respondents are satisfied with the condition of roads surfaces in their local area (41%). - One in six respondents feel the condition of road surfaces in their local area has got better in the past six months (17%) and nearly half feel they have stayed the same (48%). - Three fifths of respondents are dissatisfied with the condition of road surfaces in their local area (59%). - Three fifths of respondents disagree that potholes have reduced on roads in their local area over the past six months (60%). - Half of respondents disagree that the overall quality of pothole repairs has improved over the past six months (50%) while a quarter agree (27%). Chidcare - Over half of respondents who are parents or carers of children aged 14 or under use no formal childcare (57%). The most commonly used types of formal childcare are before- or after-school clubs (24%) and private day nurseries (13%). - A third of respondents who use formal childcare do so every, or almost every, day (35%). - The most common reasons that respondents who are parents/carers don't use formal childcare are that they prefer to look after their child at home (40%) or prefer for relatives or friends to look after their child (26%). A fifth of respondents said that childcare available locally is too expensive (21%). - Just over two fifths of respondents who are parents/carers have tried to get childcare information in the last five years (44%). The most common sources of information used were through a friend (37%), through education services (36%) or on the internet (31%). - All services provided by the Family Information Service (FIS) are thought to be very or fairly important by at least half of respondents. - Around two fifths of respondents would prefer to access the FIS through the internet (38%) and over a quarter would prefer to contact the FIS by phone (28%). Neighbourhoods - Nearly three quarters of respondents agree that the friendships and associations they have in their local area mean a lot to them (72%). - Respondents' views of what facilities and services are important closely match those that are available in their local area, and those that they have used in the last 12 months. This suggests that the provision of the majority of services and facilities is about right. This said, the figures suggest there might be a small gap in the provision of GPs, chemists/pharmacies, post offices and dentists. - One fifth of respondents feel that they cannot go to their neighbours if they need advice, a similar proportion cannot borrow and exchange things with their neighbours (21% and 19% respectively). - Two fifths of respondents agree that by working together, people in their area can influence decisions that affect the local area (62%). - Nearly half of respondents have taken some form of action in the last 12 months in an attempt to solve a problem affecting people in their local area (49%). - Two thirds of respondents are involved in at least one social group/club at least once a month (67%). |
| Outcomes | Childcare Just under half of respondents told us that you would prefer to access the Family Information Service through the internet so we created a new online search facility to let parents find childcare in their local area. This has been available since April at https://fisonline.lancashire.gov.uk/earlyyears/publicenquiry. Through this site you can also look for things to do in your area and find your nearest children's centre. Respondents also told us how important it was to ensure that the information we provide is relevant, so we're currently updating our leaflets. We're particularly looking at a leaflet to help parents choose the right childcare to meet their family's needs. We're also working on a leaflet that gives useful information on financial assistance that might be available to families as well |
Project document(s)
Report(s)
Questionnaire(s)
Contact information
For more information about this research contact:
Melissa Sherliker
01772 535019
Email: haveyoursay@lancashire.gov.uk