Listening to local people
Improvements welcomed in Annual Neighbourhood Survey
Services
During autumn 2009, more than 5,000 Edinburgh residents were asked their views on their quality of life and their satisfaction with local services.
This is the third time our Annual Neighbourhood Survey has been carried out and the findings show significant improvements.
Overall, 81 per cent of people say they are happy with the way the Council is managing neighbourhoods and frontline services.
This is an 18 per cent increase compared with three years ago.
Since 2007, satisfaction has risen by:
- 35 per cent on improvements to Council houses
- 27 per cent on dealing with vandalism and graffiti
- 27 per cent on dealing with street litter and rubbish
- 25 per cent on dealing with dog fouling
- 22 per cent on dealing with antisocial behaviour
- 16 per cent on maintenance of pavements.
Changes to how the Council runs neighbourhood operations mean that local offices can target issues which are of concern to residents – such as street cleanliness and graffiti.
Local days of action have also had an impact by increasing the visibility of Council staff such as community safety officers and Environmental Wardens. And on our roads, there has been an investment of nearly £50 million in the past three years.
The survey also highlights areas which require further improvement in each neighbourhood. Work is already under way to address these local priorities.
With your help, the Council can prioritise the issues you say are the most important.
Mystery shopping our services
Each year, a range of Council services are put to the test by members of the public and staff as part of Services for Communities’ mystery shopping programme. This involves real customers testing the customer care and quality of response from services across the department.
It provides the most detailed feedback on how well we are delivering services to our customers by telephone, face-to-face and online. Services tested include joining a library, experiencing antisocial behaviour, common stair repairs, becoming a private landlord, domestic refuse collection, applying to buy a Council house, advice about an abandoned car and many more.
In 2009, 71 per cent of all mystery shoppers were satisfied with the service they received overall. Feedback from the mystery shoppers is used to continually improve customer service.
GOOD TO KNOW:
The full 2009 Mystery Shopping and Neighbourhood Research reports are available at www.edinburgh.gov.uk
You can also see how your neighbourhood team is using the results to improve services in your area in your local section of Outlook.