Date: 26/06/2017   |   Category - Improvement and Performance, News

People in Wales are satisfied with local public services such as libraries, recycling, schools and social services in Wales, according to the latest National Survey for Wales published by the Welsh Government today.

Commenting on the National Survey, Cllr Hugh Evans OBE (Denbighshire), WLGA Spokesperson for Improvement said:

“This survey provides a valuable snapshot of the public’s attitudes to public services, their communities and their sense of wellbeing. It is reassuring that despite the challenges of ongoing austerity, the public’s sense of wellbeing and views of public services remains high.”

“Almost half of people say their council provides not only good, but high quality local services, which is remarkable given an unprecedented period of cuts to many local services and is testament to the efforts of Wales’ hardworking council workforce. Performance data more than backs up public perception and shows that services have improved over the years with 65% of councils’ comparable performance indicators improving during 2015-16. This builds on nearly a decade of steady improvements across council performance indicators.”

The National Survey for Wales shows that 48% of people agreed that their council provides high quality services in 2016-17, although this has reduced from 57% in 2013-14 reflecting the impact of austerity, it compares favourably with Scotland at 46%. The public’s views of individual services include:

70% of people rated social care and support services service as either excellent or good;

Overall rating for education was 6.2 out of 10, but parents have a more positive view, with 90% of parents satisfied with their child’s primary school and 85% satisfied with their child’s secondary school;
82% of people are satisfied with their councils’ recycling services;
95% of those who’d visited a public library were satisfied with their experience; and
85% of those surveyed were satisfied with their local area as a place to live.

Cllr Evans added:

“The survey however shows that public satisfaction in some services has fallen and there are also other areas for improvement, such as public engagement. Councils proactively engage with their communities through regular dialogue with councillors through to formal consultations and engagement initiatives, but there is always room for improvement in ensuring that communities are aware of how and why decisions are made and how they can help inform and influence them.”

Notes for Editors

Local authority performance information is available at http://www.mylocalcouncil.info

The National Survey for Wales is available at http://gov.wales/statistics-and-research/national-survey/?tab=current&lang=en