Citizen's Panel January 2000 (Summary)

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Introduction

The principal aims of the research was to ensure that Hastings Borough Council’s ‘Best Value Performance Plan’ reflects the views and priorities of local people, and to gather additional information that may assist in refining the ‘objectives’ and ’detailed performance targets’ set out in the Plan.

Self-completion questionnaires, together with post-paid reply envelopes were sent out to 1,081members of the Citizens Panel (residents who had previously agreed to participate in Council research).

The structure of the questionnaire followed that of the ‘Best Value Performance Plan’, and was divided into sections:

1. Economic & Physical Regeneration
2. Community Safety & Quality of Life
3. Transport, Travel & Communication
4. Community Participation
5. Modernising the Council

In each section, the Council’s ‘key objectives’ and specific ‘targets’ which had been set in order to achieve the objectives, were listed. Panel members were asked to consider:

1. ‘How important it was for them that the Council achieve individual targets?’
2. ‘Which if any, of the targets would improve the quality of life for themselves and/or members of their household?’
3. ‘Whether they believed there were any other objectives that the Council ought to be working towards?’

563 completed questionnaires were returned to NWA by 14th February 2000, in time for inclusion in this analysis, giving an initial response rate of 52%. At the time of writing this report, the response rate had risen to 61.6% - 627 returned questionnaires.

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Summary of main Findings

All targets included in the questionnaire were believed to be ‘important’ (‘very’ or ‘quite’) by a majority of respondents.

This majority ranged from 60% for ‘Including proposals for ‘wired’ Hastings in regeneration funding bids to Central Government & The European Community’ to 98.6% and 97.9%, respectively, in respect of ‘Reducing domestic burglaries by 8%’ and Reducing car crime by 7%’.

Only five ‘targets’ were rated as ‘important’ by more than 95% of the sample. These were:

• ‘Reduce domestic burglaries by 8%’ (98.6%)
• ‘Reduce car crime by 7%’ (97.9%)
• ‘Aim for 92.5% of highways to be of a high or acceptable standard of cleanliness’ (96.4%)
• ‘Start a scheme to bring empty properties back into use’ (95.9%)
• ‘Continue to improve the image of the town centre generally’ (95%)

Only six targets were not rated as ‘important’ by more than 70% of the sample:

• ‘Include proposals for ‘wired’ Hastings in regeneration funding bids’ (60%)
• ‘Review of electoral ward boundaries .. each ward to contain a similar number of peoples ... boundaries to reflect established communities’ (60.6%)
• ‘Undertake an air quality survey of the Borough’ (61%)
• ‘Increase the proportion of women employed in managerial posts in the Council’ (62.1%)
• ‘Improve the image of the Town Centre by pedestrianisation of Lower Queens Road’ (63.1%)
• ’Make £100,000 contribution to the cost of developing cycle routes’ (66%)

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