That was the year that was – 1980

Following on from yesterdays story about public satisfaction with Council services, it seems that little changes.

According to one of our Focus newsletters published in 1980, local residents were most satisfied with refuse collection and least happy about highway maintenance.

That’s much the same story today although the relative ranking of some other public services has changed.

The two local Councils (York District and North Yorkshire County) were both Conservative controlled in those days. York was to become a Labour run authority in 1983, something which pretty much continued unchanged until 2001 when the Liberal Democrats gained ground in local by-elections.

Focus newsletters have improved from being hand written to using a computer design with full colour printing. So some things do change.

NB. The 1980 editor was Peggy Barker who lived in Stuart Road. She was a Liberal Councillor in the Westfield Ward for 5 years.

1980 Focus survey result

60% of York residents say road maintenance is “poor”

With the York Council’s ruling Executive due to discuss it’s first quarter performance later today, a new survey has revealed that many residents are unhappy with public service standards in the City.

West York survey results July/Aug 2016

Road repairs (60% rated “poor”) and footpath repairs (57%) top the list of woes, but there is also criticism of litter bin provision and car parking arrangements in some sub-urban estates.

Best rated service was recycling (92% rated good or satisfactory), with refuse collection also rated positively (89%).

The Council’s investment in new street lighting seems to be impressing people with 87% now rating it as good or satisfactory.

However there is little evidence that the Council’s proclaimed priority – investing in street level service quality – is having a positive effect.

Dissatisfaction with roads and footpaths is at an all time high.

Councillors today will be given a different set of figures to consider. Their “key performance indicators” are not included on the Executive agenda but can be accessed via the”open data” web site.

This is in itself a step forward from previous years when data was often hidden from residents.

Transport KPIs August 2016 click to access

However a closer look at the stats reveals that, not only are most quarter one figures unavailable, but also many of the out-turn figures for 2015/16 haven’t been updated.

No improvement targets are identified.

Quite what “performance” – other than a bland anecdotal commentary – Councillors will therefore be considering later today is a mystery.

The York Council must now put more emphasis on customer satisfaction. Publishing the results of quarterly residents “talkabout” panel views would be a start.

The key message though, as the Council begins to construct its budget priorities for next year, is that residents want to see more invested in repairing our roads and footpaths.

York residents invited to have their say on city’s health and wellbeing priorities

This month York residents are being invited to have their say on the city’s priorities for health and wellbeing.

York Health and Wellbeing Board – a strategic partnership which sets the vision and direction for health and wellbeing for the city- is asking people to comment on what they think the health and wellbeing priorities for the city should be. Residents can take part in a short online survey to have their say at www.york.gov.uk/consultations.

The results of the consultation will be used to shape a Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy; which will set out the priorities and the focus for investment for the city’s health and wellbeing over the next five years.
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Acomb Explore Library popular with residents

Library is brilliant

The library and all the staff are really excellent & informative, very pleasant

Libary results at 15th Aug 2016 A door to door survey in the York Road area has found that residents rate the Acomb Explore Library very highly.

35% of respondents say that they have visited the Library at least once over the last year.

Most have gone to borrow books, but the cafe, children’s area & internet access also attracted a large number of users.

Asked what would prompt residents to visit the library more frequently, respondents said that the opening of a police incident reporting desk and a regular Councillors surgery were both worth considering.

Library staff also attracted a number of complimentary responses (above).

There were 101,000 visits to Acomb Explore Library last year.

Since April 2016 the Library has attracted 36,000 visitors.

The survey was undertaken by the Westfield Ward Councillors team dover the last 6 weeks.

Westfield residents May survey now “on line”

The quarterly residents survey, which we undertake in York’s Westfield Ward & which appears in our Focus newsletter, can now be completed “on line”

Just click the form below to access it.

Please note the survey is only available to residents living in the Westfield Ward

click to complete

York Central residents survey.

click to complete

Only two weeks left to give your views.

The York Council is now nearly halfway through its “consultation” on the future of the York Central site.

Sad to say, but the information provided to aid residents in making their choices is pretty hopeless. Most obvious omissions are any financial or value for money metrics.

Basically a survey which offers residents anything they want, but without explaining either costs or sources of funding, is bound to lack credibility. Local developers have already questioned he sanity of a project that depends on speculative office development to repay investment in infrastructure.

Similarly a casual suggestion that through traffic should be removed from Leeman Road is bound to prompt a question about the impact on the rest of the highway network?

Key background facts, like the number of unemployed in the City and the number on the housing waiting list, are not provided, yet respondents are asked to take a stab at the number of new jobs and homes that they think should be provided on the site.

Doubly so, given the sensitivities that still linger on from the Lendal Bridge closure fiasco.

The Council really needs to debate how big they see the City becoming over the next few decades?

Answer that question first and the contribution that the York Central site (which is ideally located) can make, will become more obvious.

How not to increase “public engagement” with the York Council

According to the York Council web site

“Our Corporate and Scrutiny Management Committee is reviewing the potential for improving public engagement, the take up of services through digital means and our ability to respond.

We welcome your views and experiences of engaging with us via our Improving Public Engagement survey“.

Strange that a Council seeking to increase “public engagement” should launch a survey and then fail to publicise it!!!

It isn’t even mentioned in the recently distributed “Our City” civic newspaper.

Click here to complete the survey and get a warm sense of “engagement”

Survey going well despite confusion caused by local newspaper

Click to complete

Our survey into Westfield residents views and priorities – officially launched on Tuesday – is getting a good response.

No thanks to The Press newspaper which publicised yesterday a link to a similar survey which is apparently looking for the views of residents living in the Acomb Ward. That survey was only made available more recently. The Press confused the issue by using a photo of part of the Westfield Ward to illustrate their story, but failed to provide a link to our survey.

So Westfield residents should click this link to take part in the “on line” survey.