Town and Parish Survey Report: Key Findings and Insights
Better understand current operations of town and parish councils post-Buckinghamshire Council launch. Insightful survey from 22nd May 2023 to 31st July 2023 provided by 46 councils. Report emphasizes key areas like community engagement, planning, finance, and environmental influence. Valuable data for enhancing strategies and council performance.
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Click to edit Master title style Click to edit Master title style Click to edit Master subtitle style Click to edit Master subtitle style Town and Parish Survey Report Survey dates 22 May 2023 to 31 July 2023 Report for information 24/09/2024 1 24/09/2024 Author: Simon Garwood 1
Context Context Aims To better understand what is currently working well, and not so well, for parish and town councils, 3 years since the launch of Buckinghamshire Council. To inform the development of a Town and Parish Strategic Engagement Framework, an internal awareness campaign (Think Local), the next review of the Town and Parish Charter and its ongoing action plan. Key points Key points The consultation ran from 22nd May 2022 to 31st July 2022. 46 town and parish councils completed the Town and Parish Survey online. There were 3 responses received by email, making 49 responses in total. One response was anonymous and is therefore not included in the heatmap on page 6. There were also 3 duplicate responses where the clerk and a councillor from the same parish had completed the survey. The Community & Partnerships and Communication & Consultation teams worked closely together throughout the consultation process, from design to completion. There was additional input from the Highways Service and Democratic Services (the latter leading an enquiry into Statutory Undertakers on behalf of the Transport Select Committee). The results of the Statutory Undertakers section of the survey do not form part of the report as this was a separate enquiry however the committee s full review including recommendations can be found on the following link TECC Streetworks Report.pdf (moderngov.co.uk) Learnings from the process will help inform future communications and surveys. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Summary of Key Findings Summary of Key Findings BMKALC Parish Liaison Meetings are very important to local councils with 75% of respondents saying that they attended some, most or all of the time and 71% and 69% respectively saying they are helpful and relevant. Clerks Forums are also important with 71% of respondents saying that their clerks attended sometimes, most of the time or always and 63% saying that they are helpful and relevant. Newsletters 69% of councils find the newsletters helpful and 67% find them relevant. Contacting the Council 88% felt that Buckinghamshire Council officers normally respond quickly when they ask for help. Finance 90% of respondents said that the precept setting process was straightforward with only two respondents stating that they had any difficulties with the process. Community Boards 88% of councils who responded to the survey said that they are somewhat, very or extremely engaged with their community board. When asked whether their council was involved in one or more community board action groups, 40% said yes and 55% said no. Highways The top priority for works on roads, lighting and drainage was Getting it right first time closely followed by Quality of work . The lowest priority was Knowing about upcoming works. The Planning Forums are important meetings for local councils. 79% of respondents said they attended these some, most or all of the time. Planning Service 48% were somewhat, very or extremely satisfied. 48% were not very or not at all satisfied. Planning Decisions 67% of councils said they could sometimes influence planning decisions and 23% said never. 8% of respondents said they could influence planning decisions most or all the time. Refuse and Recycling 88% were somewhat, very or extremely satisfied. 8% were not very satisfied. Environment & Climate Change 44% of respondents said they felt they could influence decisions and services around the environment and climate change while 35% said they didn t. Litter and Fly-tipping 73% of respondents felt they could influence services in terms of litter and fly-tipping BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Promotion and Responses Promotion and Responses We promoted the Town and Parish Survey through several different channels including: Direct emails to Town and Parish Councils Local Buckinghamshire Council Members Town and Parish Newsletters Social Media BMKALC communications Clerks Forums Community Boards Parish Liaison Meetings Despite the extensive promotion and the survey being open for over 2 months we received no response from 120 of the 171 parishes in Buckinghamshire (70%). 1 Parish Council and 1 Town Council responded to explain that they would not be completing the survey for their own specific operational reasons. 46 local councils completed the survey online and 3 further councils submitted responses by email. The heat map on the right shows 48 of the 49 local councils who responded. One of the online responses was anonymous and therefore is not included on the map. There were 3 town and parish councils who responded twice. This is because the survey was completed by a councillor and the clerk. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Views on 1. Communication 2. Finance 3. Community Boards 4. Highways Service 5. Other Services
Views on Views on Communication Communication Parish Liaison Meetings These meetings are very important to local councils with 75% of respondents saying that they attended some, most or all of the time. 71% said that the meetings are helpful and 69% said that they are relevant. The main concern about the meetings is that presentations from BC are generally too long and can feel like a PR exercise and that more time should be allocated to dialogue, discussion and finding solutions. Clerks Forums Similarly, 71% of the local councils who responded said that their clerks attend the Clerks Forums some, most or all of the time. 63% said that they were helpful and relevant. The main comments were that the updates from BC officers are helpful and that it is also helpful to meet other clerks and to discuss and exchange information and assist one another with solutions. Town and Parish Newsletters 69% of councils find the newsletters helpful and 67% find them relevant. The comments reflected these scores with the majority of councils saying that they were useful updates. It also was requested that they could be expanded to include more about how Buckinghamshire Council is working with local councils. Consultations and Other Engagement In terms of engagement with services, 52% of councils felt it was easy to find the right person to speak to at BC but 46% felt that it wasn t easy at all. 88% felt that Buckinghamshire Council officers normally respond quickly when they ask for help. The comments revealed that the quality and speed of engagement can depend on the officer and with high officer turnover it can be difficult to build relationships. 65% felt that consultations are easy to respond to and that BC is getting better at giving enough time to respond to consultations but that some consultations can still be quite technical and lengthy. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Views on Views on Finance, Precepts and Budgets Finance, Precepts and Budgets Precept Setting Process 90% of respondents said that the precept setting process was straightforward with only two respondents stating that they had any difficulties with the process. 75% said that the information provided by Buckinghamshire Council was relevant. 73% said that the information provided by Buckinghamshire Council was easy to understand. 65% said that the information provided by Buckinghamshire Council was up to date. The comments indicate that timescales, formulae, spreadsheet and instructions were easy to follow. Budget Setting There was some concern that Buckinghamshire Services trading with town and parish councils, including devolved highways services don t provide information in time for budget setting and that one year at a time contracts are not helpful when purchasing, leasing and maintaining equipment. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Views on Views on Community Boards Community Boards Engagement 88% of councils who responded to the survey said that they are somewhat, very or extremely engaged with their community board. When asked whether their council was involved in one or more community board action groups, 40% said yes and 55% said no. We also asked whether local councils had been involved in setting agenda items for the main community board meetings, 46% said they had made requests for items to be on the agenda and 54% said they hadn t. Of those who had requested items, 31% said they were always or mostly accepted, 6% said they were never accepted and 4% said they were sometimes accepted. The comments box indicated there are still differences in understanding the purpose of community boards and some concerns about the petition process. A couple of the key themes were that many parishes felt that community boards were dominated by unitary councillors and that the role of parish councils is undermined by the number of unelected people present. What works well? The community board managers are doing an excellent job as this is a constant theme throughout the comments as well as good communication. Joint projects like the Buckingham Banking Hub and the ability to exchange information and ways of working with other parish councils are also key outcomes. What could be better? Smaller parishes felt the larger parish and town councils and Buckinghamshire Councillors tend to dominate. There was concern about the administrative burden of applying for funding. Less top-down i.e. more focused on local priorities and less on Bucks own priorities. Presentations from Council Officers, while they can be useful, can be too long. Concern that Community Boards don't perform the function of bringing parishes and Bucks Council together as equal partners, because local councils are treated as the child in the relationship. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Views on Views on - - Highways Work on the Roads The top priority was Getting it right first time closely followed by Quality of work . The lowest priority was Knowing about upcoming works. Respondents found it difficult to rank these in terms of importance and some wanted to tick 1 for all options. Quality of work on the roads: 38% rated it as poor, 25% rated it as acceptable and 21% rated it as inadequate. Fixing potholes was highlighted as a priority and reporting / communicating issues and challenges. Streetlighting The top priority was Getting it right first time closely followed by Quality of work . The lowest priorities equally were Knowing about upcoming works and being Kept informed about issues reported . Quality of works on Streetlighting: 46% didn t answer reflecting the fact that many parishes either have no lighting or it is the responsibility of the parish / town council. 33% rated streetlighting works as acceptable, 8% rated them good, 6% rated them poor with 4% rating them as very poor and inadequate, respectively. Drainage and Gullies The top priority was Getting it right first time closely followed by Quality of work . The lowest priority was Knowing about upcoming works. Quality of works: 27% rated them as acceptable, 26% as poor, 18% as good and 17% as inadequate. The main concerns were that the council doesn t or hasn t carried out any works on gullies in the parish and that the schedule for gully works is always promised to be shared but never is. Highways Information 34% of respondents agreed that information provided is relevant, 35% disagreed. 29% of respondents agreed that information provided is easy to find. 36% disagreed. 27% of respondents agreed that information provided is up to date. 44% disagreed. 29% of respondents agreed that information provided easy to understand. 34% disagreed. The key themes in the comments were that most info comes via the LATs, needing advanced warning of works to notify residents and lack of communication about changes to grass cutting and weedkilling. It was felt that a layman s guide to inspection and repairs would be helpful. Highways BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
Views on Views on Other Services Other Services Planning Forums The Planning Forums are important meetings for local councils. 79% of respondents said they attended these some, most or all of the time. 17% said they never attended but this may reflect parishes where there is very little development. 69% said the meetings are helpful and 67% said that they are relevant. The key feedback on the planning forums was to avoid long officer presentations that might be seen as a PR exercise rather than useful engagement and there were some requests to make meetings face to face again. However local councils find the information shared useful and feel it s important that they are kept up to date. Service Delivery Satisfaction: Planning: 48% were somewhat, very or extremely satisfied. 48% were not very or not at all satisfied. There were concerns that it sometimes feels that local knowledge isn t considered particularly in terms of objections to planning applications or decisions about s106. Earlier engagement would also be helpful. Refuse and Recycling: 88% were somewhat, very or extremely satisfied. 8% were not very satisfied. Off-street parking: 60% of respondents said that this was not applicable. Of those remaining, 23% were somewhat, very or extremely satisfied and 12% were not very or not at all satisfied. Parks and Open Spaces: Again 67% of respondents said that this was not applicable to them. 24% said that they were somewhat, very or extremely satisfied and 8% said that they were not at all satisfied. Service Delivery Influence: Planning: 8% of respondents said they could influence planning decisions most or all the time. 67% said sometimes and 23% said never. Refuse and Recycling: 63% said they could influence refuse and recycling, some, most or all of the time. 29% said they couldn t ever influence decisions. Environment & Climate Change: 44% of respondents said they felt they could influence decisions and services around the environment and climate change while 35% said they didn t. Litter and Fly-tipping: 73% of respondents felt they could influence services in terms of litter and fly-tipping while 23% felt they couldn t. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
What does Buckinghamshire Council do well? What does Buckinghamshire Council do well? A selection of comments from local councils A selection of comments from local councils We've received good support from Planning, Development Management, Leisure Services and Commercial Waste teams. I think the sheer variety of services under the current funding pressures should be celebrated and not underestimated in the current climate. Support for leisure activities in local towns - north of Aylesbury! There are some very good councillors that are very involved in the communities they represent. The LATs are very helpful. Communication on various platforms. Many of your staff are excellent and try very hard to help. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
What could Buckinghamshire Council do better? What could Buckinghamshire Council do better? A selection of comments from local councils A selection of comments from local councils We are sceptical about whether our responses to this survey will have any effect... have we just wasted our time? Day-to-day issues are generally handled well and efficiently but more difficult issues are frequently not and don't seem to be escalated in the timescales we'd expect. Communication directly with PC on issues raised with respect to consultations at a local level. Not everything being on-line for residents to report or find out about Engage with parish & town councils as equals, we can do a lot more than we are given credit for. We would like more information on the new highways App and what it will do We would like regular meetings with key council staff e.g. LAT, Planning Officers etc. The whole local plan / neighbourhood plan is a minefield. There needs to be much more assistance on the latter. BUCKINGHAMSHIRE COUNCIL
