Citizens' Panel - Service Standards

This survey is part of a wider piece of work to refocus and refresh our Service Standards and make sure they are being embedded as part of lasting culture change. The questions in this survey aimed to hear from residents to understand your experiences of the Council.

We plan to continue to involve our residents in ensuring we provide the best customer experience possible and will be hosting a focus group for Citizens’ Panel members later in 2025.

• Awareness of Service Standards – Over half of Panel members (57 per cent) had not heard of the Service Standards. Male respondents (27 per cent) were more likely to have heard of the Service Standards than female respondents (21 per cent). Ethnically Diverse respondents (29 per cent) were more likely to have heard of the Service Standards than White respondents (22 per cent). Those living in the south of the borough (29 per cent) were more likely to have heard of the Service Standards than either those living in the north (24 per cent) or the centre (21 per cent).​
• Views on recent contact – Panel members most often felt confident that the Council understood what they contacted them about (37 per cent always and 34 per cent mostly) and seen, heard and listened to (35 per cent always and 28 per cent mostly). Those living in the centre of the borough (74 per cent) felt this more than those living in the north and the centre (61 per cent each). Respondents least often felt that they could escalate their enquiry or concern easily (18 per cent sometimes,13 per cent rarely and 13 per cent never) and that they were included in decisions about them/their family (19 per cent sometimes,10 per cent rarely and 13 per cent never).​
• Overall satisfaction with customer services – Over half of respondents (62 per cent) said they were either very satisfied (30 per cent) or satisfied (32 per cent) with the service they had received. Those aged 60 and over (65 per cent) were more satisfied than those aged under 60 (58 per cent). White respondents (63 per cent) more satisfied than Ethnically Diverse respondents (58 per cent).
• Impact of Service Standards – Over half of Panel members (52 per cent) said they neither agree nor disagree that the customer service they received from the Council has improved since the introduction of the Service Standards. Ethnically Diverse respondents (41 per cent) were more likely to agree than White respondents (28 per cent). Those living in the north of the borough (35 per cent) were more likely to agree than those living in the south (30 per cent) and the centre (28 per cent).​
• What good looks like – When asked if they thought the Service Standards help them know what good looks like and what they can expect when they contact the Council 50 per cent of Panel members selected yes. Those living in the south of the borough (63 per cent) were more likely to say yes than those living in the north (49 per cent) and the centre (45 per cent).​
• What to do if unhappy – Half of Panel members (50 per cent) said they know how to tell the Council if they are unhappy with the service received. Those aged over 60 (55 per cent) were more likely to say yes to this than those under 60 (45 per cent). Those living in the south of the borough (59 per cent) were more likely to say yes than those living in the centre (50 er cent) and the north (44 per cent).​
• Measuring progress – The most often selected ways to measure progress around the Standards are resident satisfaction survey responses (65 per cent) and monitoring and analysing positive, neutral and negative feedback (56 per cent). The least often selected ways to measure their progress in working to the Service Standards are staff satisfaction survey responses (23 per cent) and resident led testing of services (37 per cent).​
• Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) information – Over half of Panel members (60 per cent) said they were either very likely (30 per cent) or somewhat likely (24 per cent) to share EDI information. Panel members were also asked why they thought people might not want to share their EDI information, the three themes mentioned most often were fear of discrimination (29 mentions), concerns about confidentiality (26 mentions) and too personal (16 mentions).

• The results from this survey are being used to inform the development of Resident Connect, the customer relationship manger (CRM) tool committed to in the Service Standards.
• The feedback has also been used to test how far the codesigned Service Standards have been reflected in residents’ experiences when contacting the Council.
• The next stage of work on this project will involve Citizens’ Panel members who expressed interest in being part of a focus group being contacted in the late autumn with more details.
• A fuller ‘We Did’ update will follow after the next stage is complete.