1. Stroud District Council Budget Consultation 2010 Summary of Findings November 2010

2. Background Stroud District Council again commissioned research primarily designed to inform the authority’s decisions on Council Tax and budget priority setting for the forthcoming year –this year, with residents and businesses The research was carried out by means of a telephone survey –with a random selection of 300 residents –and with a random selection of 200 local businesses The telephone interview contained questions about –perceived performance of the Council and its services –policy priorities –budget priorities } –Council Tax options} only with residents –recycling –environmental health } only with businesses

3. RESIDENT SURVEY

4. Perceived performance

5. General attitudes 1 The majority of residents continue to feel satisfied with the way SDC runs things and believe that the Council is business-like and efficient

6. General attitudes 2 Although not universal, there have been some very slight improvements this year

7. Mandatory services1 All mandatory services are perceived to perform reasonably well …

8. Mandatory services2 … with improvements in seven of these 12 services

9. Discretionary services1 The top-performing discretionary services perform really well …

10. Discretionary services2 … and there are some real signs of improvement in some areas

11. Discretionary services3 Those services at the bottom of the scale are not well-perceived at all …

12. Discretionary services4 … although there are some improved perceptions here too

13. Budget priorities

14. Spending cuts – mandatory services1 Despite the publicity about the Government’s finances, there is no great appetite to see cuts amongst most mandatory services …

15. Spending cuts – mandatory services2 … although the degree of acceptance of cuts is far higher than it was last year

16. Spending cuts – discretionary services1 Amongst discretionary services, very few people want any of the services to cease …

17. Spending cuts – discretionary services2 … and the appetite to accept spending cuts is quite low too …

18. Spending cuts – discretionary services3 … although it is far higher than in 2009

19. Other value-for-money areas With regards to the Dursley Swimming Pool, I think the Council has at its disposal an excellent facility, but they do not use it as much as they could. They could offer lessons in there, for which they could charge and get the money If the council don't have any money then they should keep all the money that they have got instead of spending it on improvements Recycling - cardboard doesn't get collected and it means people have to travel to get rid of it. This is the same with garden waste. Lots of people can't manage this, so it should be recycled at the door. The council can get rid of departments within the council that are not needed, as this wastes money which is already limited within the council. Where do they believe the Council can deliver improvements with less money? –examples included greater efficiencies internally and generating greater use of facilities –but a lot of people just wanted more spending (in their favourite area)

20. Council Tax and Corporate priorities

21. Council Tax options Given the findings that relate to services, it’s not surprising to see a majority in favour of a small increase in Council Tax Last year, 11% wanted a freeze in CT I believe there should be a reduction in council tax. I took a 20% pay cut two years ago and since then council tax has not got any less A large increase in council tax, I would prefer to pay more for services in order to keep them going

22. CDP 2010-14 Of the four CDP priorities, providing value for money is the most important by far 70% in 2009

23. Other priorities When asked what other priorities the Council should be focusing on, the answers were varied and often unhelpful For the town to attract people to visit there should be adequate car parking, which there is not at this moment in time In the case of single young people that are trying to settle down and rent a small property, maybe a flat or a bedsit, I think the Council could try and help them with the Council Tax. I do not think it is fair to expect them to pay the full of amount The rubbish collection isn't very good at all. Plus her streetlights go on and off during the course of the night They should really focus on road maintenance and mending I think the Council should make sure that the canal is finished and well maintained, and also try and promote the image of the town in connection with it Yes the council should stop wasting money as they have recently spent a lot of money on changing the refuse collection service so that it was more cost efficient. This did not happen in the end and it ended up costing more money to change the service back More promotion of the use of solar panels

24. Recycling

25. Recycling1 The clear majority of residents believe that they recycle everything they can

26. Recycling2 If the Council were to extend its recycling service, the priorities are seen to be plastic (trays, tubs, yoghurt pots) and card – only food isn’t a priority for the majority

27. Help to recycle more Ideas put forward included –bigger recycling bins –more doorstep collections (reduces their carbon footprint) –more, and better, information Provide a collection for cardboard and food waste Yes, they should take the garden waste and use it for compost, not just for landfill. I used to put the garden waste in the green bag near the landfill waste, but I stopped doing that after I've seen that they put everything together. The council should provide a more detailed list of what can and cannot be recycled as at the moment it is very vague. The Council should give directives to local supermarkets and not allow them to sell things packed in plastic, but in cardboard or paper. The issue should be tackled from the producers. More to collected at the door instead of having to take stuff like cardboard into Stroud. Also they don't recycle the plastic trays that tomatoes come in.

28. BUSINESS SURVEY

29. Perceived performance

30. General attitudes 1 As in previous years, businesses are not very positive about SDC across the range of measures …

31. General attitudes 2 … but whilst there have been some very slight improvements since 2008 …

32. General attitudes 3 … it remains the case that businesses are far less positive about the Council than residents

33. Mandatory services1 All mandatory services are perceived to perform reasonably well …

34. Mandatory services2 … with some major perceived improvements in services since 2008 Note, excludes those who “don’t know”

35. Discretionary services1 The top-performing discretionary services perform really well too …

36. Discretionary services2 But those services at the bottom of the scale are not well-perceived at all

37. Discretionary services2 But there are some real signs of improvement since 2008

38. Corporate priorities

39. CDP 2010-141 Of the four CDP priorities, recessionary recovery is the most important by far … 66% in 2009

40. CDP 2010-142 … very much more so amongst businesses than amongst residents

41. Economic recovery The Council could help by –examining (reducing) business rates –information and advice –internal cost reduction –buying local, etc They could provide more information about what they do and what services they offer and how they might help us Look at the supply chain and make sure they're using local companies where possible By keeping all their costs as low as possible. There should be strict controls for the amount of money that they spend on their staff. They should not be over-staffed just as we cannot be in industry. And I mean that right from the top to the bottom. I don't know if they can; Council staff and their offices have no idea what running a business is about, they don't look at medium sized businesses, they only have an awareness of small shops etc., they have no idea about industry. I know they linked up with Business Link a few years ago as a service and it provided valuable advice and consultation which was really helpful for me as a business. If I hadn't had got that advice I think I'd have probably gone bankrupt in this recession By keeping business rates to a minimum and not putting red tape in the way of businesses

42. Other findings

43. Environmental health One quarter of businesses (26%) have had some form of contact with SDC’s environmental health service –of these, almost everyone was treated fairly and found the staff helpful

44. Waste & recycling1 There appear to be fewer businesses this year who are aware of their responsibilities and of local companies that recycle …

45. Waste & recycling2 … but the number of businesses that do recycle their waste has increased … Not statistically significant

46. Waste & recycling3 … and there is also greater recycling activity amongst all categories of waste Metal (10%), oil (5%) batteries (4%), Print cartridges (3%), wood (3%), etc

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