Forum Topic

Council survey (see front news page).

The top reasons people gave for being satisfied with the area were the friendly people, quiet neighbourhoods and good access to public transport.  All things over which the council has no control.The top three reasons for dissatisfaction were rubbish and litter, crime and parking problems.   Two of which the council directly influence.Doubtless our 'dear leader' will see the former as a glowing confirmation of his politburo's 'management' of the borough while totally ignoring the causes of dissatisfaction.

N V Brooks ● 2372d18 Comments

It's not true that the Council has no control over public transport.

Philippa Bond ● 2367d

Strange how the survey was of around 1,000 fewer residents than the 2014 one. Did they think asking fewer people would mean fewer unfavourable responses?

Simon Hayes ● 2367d

(in response to the report)However Cllr Gregory Stafford, Opposition Leader said:“The survey results clearly demonstrate what we have been saying all along.  Labour is providing a poor service to residents.  The level of residents’ satisfaction on universal services such as streets, education, leisure and culture have significantly dropped.The most depressing indicators are that a quarter of residents believe the area is getting worse (litter and rubbish being the main cause) and the decline in the number of residents who are satisfied living in Ealing - down from the 83% satisfaction level under the Conservative Administration."    Says it all, worse services at higher cost. Only under Labour in Ealing.

N V Brooks ● 2367d

A survey conducted of less than 1300 people for a whole borough is not representative of such an area that includes hundresds of thousands of residents.As far as I am concerned they have been asking the wrong section of 1253 residents.I for one have very rarely had a satisfactory handling and outcome of any issues raised!

egli nicolaidou ● 2370d

You can add the £100,000+ subsidy per annum to Around Ealing magazine. Such a vital communication tool (according to one J Bell esq) it couldn’t even publish details of last year’s consultation on the Local Implementation Plan (which will have a huge negative impact on Ealing residents).But hey, as long as messrs Bell, Sabiers, Mahfouz et al say Ealing is doing great and everyone is happy then who are we taxpayers to argue?

Simon Hayes ● 2371d

Oh well, that's 'only' £51,000 wasted that could have actually been spent on services.It does make me wonder how much is spent annually on surveys and 'consultants'.

N V Brooks ● 2371d

Quite! They are spanking another £13,000 on a survey about the library service. Strange when they claim there’s nothing in the pot to run these services.What happens if that survey says we should keep the library service as it is? Would that be money well spent.Don’t forget, this is the Council that refused to raise council tax for years because it was finding ‘savings’ elsewhere. Now council tax will go up every year and services will disappear.Interesting that 35% said they would pay more council tax to keep services going. I note that this report still blamed everything on government cuts.

Simon Hayes ● 2371d

What a waste of £38,000 !!!!!!

Jean F Fernandez ● 2371d

Thanks for that Simon.This survey cost £38,000!!! The conclusion of the impact of this report (pp16,17) are clear however. "4.  Financial There  are  no  immediate  financial  implications  arising  from  this  report. The  cost  of carrying out the survey was £38,000. The survey results will inform the future development of the council’s budget strategy and this will be taken into account as and when further proposals are developed. 5.Legal None6.Value for Money None7.Sustainability Impact Appraisal None.8.Risk Management None.9.Community Safety There are no direct community safety implications as part of this report.  Seems like £38,000 well spent then!Page 5 makes interesting reading in that 'satisfaction with council-run services' has decreased in every single one of the eight service areas measured over the last five years. How long have this lot 'run the shop'?

N V Brooks ● 2371d

I have only had time to skim through the report but it was very clear that a focus on the apparent overall satisfaction of residents with the Council is actually very misleading. The reality is that there is increasing concern over falling service quality in key areas. What was amusing was how few people knew who their local councillors were! 83% couldn't name one.

Gordon Southwell ● 2371d

Have a look at this: https://ealing.cmis.uk.com/ealing/Document.ashx?czJKcaeAi5tUFL1DTL2UE4zNRBcoShgo=FnCr0HnDK5bMp1o7DByrrNTSosVvNHOnQXgqDrBoKhYvxXE6ZROftw%3D%3D&rUzwRPf%2BZ3zd4E7Ikn8Lyw%3D%3D=pwRE6AGJFLDNlh225F5QMaQWCtPHwdhUfCZ%2FLUQzgA2uL5jNRG4jdQ%3D%3D&mCTIbCubSFfXsDGW9IXnlg%3D%3D=hFflUdN3100%3D&kCx1AnS9%2FpWZQ40DXFvdEw%3D%3D=hFflUdN3100%3D&uJovDxwdjMPoYv%2BAJvYtyA%3D%3D=ctNJFf55vVA%3D&FgPlIEJYlotS%2BYGoBi5olA%3D%3D=NHdURQburHA%3D&d9Qjj0ag1Pd993jsyOJqFvmyB7X0CSQK=ctNJFf55vVA%3D&WGewmoAfeNR9xqBux0r1Q8Za60lavYmz=ctNJFf55vVA%3D&WGewmoAfeNQ16B2MHuCpMRKZMwaG1PaO=ctNJFf55vVA%3D&fbclid=IwAR0WwP9eyISfGJXE65w02gNBq3RGs9AJx0ufjVAC93U51jc4B-7f_I-7HDwSurprisingly, only 11 percent of respondents said they would volunteer their time to support services. Not quite the response Bell and co expected!

Simon Hayes ● 2371d

Has anyone managed to find a copy of the original report? There is no link to it in the article, which there should be really, and I couldn't find it on Ealing Council's web site.  It could be a similar situation to the Mueller Report where we only heard what Trump's Attorney General had to say about it.  The fact that the Council seem to being a little bit cagey about letting people have the full text could be an indication that there is something quite interesting in it as opposed to the fluff they are highlighting.

Gordon Southwell ● 2371d

I bet you couldn't find 1253 who were really happy :-)

N V Brooks ● 2372d

Friends and families of elected members and officers would be about 1,253?

Libby Kemp ● 2372d

Interesting that respondents found it easy to contact the council when the reality is that it’s extremely difficult to get answers or information from it. The new parking permit system is just the latest example.I guess if you live in Southall or Northolt your perception of how ‘good’ the Council is may well differ from someone who lives in South Ealing or Acton.The stupidity of this survey system is that Cllr Bell and co use it to justify their increasingly crackpot policies while persistently ignoring the wishes of the people directly affected by those policies. They are simply not interested in us until it’s time to vote.

Simon Hayes ● 2372d

When TFL did a survey about the Tram we found out that many of the people questioned lived in Wimbledon and other places where the Tram could be seen as a positive idea. So whilst a survey could be useful in finding out what people think the people sponsoring it must be honest in allowing criticism to feedback in order that a survey has meaning and is not a waste of money. Many companies will have surveys that allow customers to really feedback on what is wrong.

Peter Chadburn ● 2372d

Perhaps they should start with asking people living locally which borough they are living in because I don't actually think that a lot of them know.

Philippa Bond ● 2372d

Quite right. Of course, if you ask questions in a particular way then you get the answers you want.This is not an independent survey. It is a survey carried out by an independent market research company on behalf of its client, Ealing Council. The client will tell the research company what areas it wants to look at and will agree the structure of the questions.I wonder if they included questions about specifics, such as agreeing with library closures, scrapping stop and shop bays or failing to deal with traveller incursions.

Simon Hayes ● 2372d