Council publishes Let's Talk about Life in the Vale survey results

Council publishes Let's Talk about Life in the Vale survey results

The Vale of Glamorgan Council has revealed the results of its Let's talk about Life in the Vale survey.

• Friday, 19 April 2024

  Vale of Glamorgan

This was an extensive exercise to better understand residents' experiences and improve the way in which Council services are delivered.

Residents were asked to complete a questionnaire which covered 11 themes, including public service priorities, cost of living, climate change, volunteering, and travel.

There were over 4,000 responses, gathered between August and December last year, which data partners suggest is a strong sample that accurately reflects views within the County.

Results showed that residents are generally happy with the Vale as a place to live and Council priorities are broadly in line with theirs.

Results indicated that 60 per cent of respondents were either very or fairly satisfied with the Vale of Glamorgan as a place to live, and 80 per cent would recommend the County as a place to live.

Seventy-eight per cent of respondents stated that they are either very or fairly concerned with the cost-of-living crisis, 68 per cent are either very or fairly concerned with the climate emergency and 65 per cent are either very or fairly concerned with the nature emergency.

All of these are areas of priority for the Council as reflected in the Council's Annual Delivery Plan and Budget Strategy.

Being able to easily access care and healthcare services when needed, live in a neighbourhood that is clean and tidy, and buy or rent a good quality home were rated as respondents' top priorities.

However, the results also show there is more to be done to explain Council work and engage residents in decision making. For example, less than half of respondents indicated that they could influence decisions that affected them.

Cllr Ruba Sivagnanam, Vale of Glamorgan Council Cabinet Member for Community Engagement, Equalities and Regulatory Services, said: "Public participation has been an established priority for our Council for the last two years. In our latest Annual Delivery Plan, we identify the need to continue this work. The results of the Let's Talk survey really bring into focus how important this work is.

"Though the survey revealed the generally positive experience of people living in the Vale, it also highlighted areas for improvement. This is important information that we will use to guide Council work.

"Clearly there is more that needs to be done to communicate how and why we take decisions to residents. This is about how we talk to people, how we explain decisions and how we hear voices from all parts of our communities.

"In particular we need to be more transparent about what the Council is and isn't able to do, especially when decisions we have to take don't reflect the feedback we've received.

"We also need to better explain how factors relating to demand and financial pressure have a knock-on effect on the Council's ability to deliver services that residents have come to expect.

"We must build on relationships with community groups to get our messages to the people who want to improve their community but don't feel that they can contribute to decisions made about Council services."

Further results are available in the report, which was presented to the Council's Cabinet on 11 April.

The Council's Public Participation Strategy will be reviewed and updated according to results, while findings will also influence the next Corporate Plan, which will outline how services will be shaped and delivered between 2025 and 2030.

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