Look out for ‘Your Council Your Voice’ survey and have your say
Residents across Derbyshire are being encouraged to have their say on Derbyshire County Council’s services and finances as part of a wide-ranging new survey.
The ‘Your Council Your Voice’ survey gives county residents the chance to share what they think of the services, how satisfied they are with them and how they find out about them.
Launching Your Council Your Voice, Derbyshire County Council Leader Councillor Barry Lewis urged residents to take part and have their say by completing the new look survey which is open for 6 weeks.
Residents will have the opportunity to say how satisfied they are with the areas where they live and what they think about Derbyshire as a whole, whether they’re proud of the county and if it is a safe place to live.
As well as asking about a range of services provided, there are questions about the budget and how spending is prioritised. It’s the first time Derbyshire County Council have combined their annual budget consultation with a more wide-ranging questionnaire.
A new question relating to finances asks residents to look at a range of options they could consider in order to save money or raise additional revenue and to rank them in order of preference, with the possibility to make suggestions.
Last year’s budget consultation saw nearly 7,000 people responding via the survey and this number is expected to increase due to the questionnaire being expanded to include other issues.
Councillor Barry Lewis said:“We continue to run an effective, efficient and strong council providing the best value for money, and we are doing this in the face of greater demands on our services and on-going budget pressures.”
“What we need to know is whether Derbyshire residents think we’re getting it right, what changes they’d like to see and whether their priorities have changed from last year.”
“We’ve expanded the survey this year so we can take a closer look at what people think about where they live and what they think the council could do to save money or raise additional revenue.”
“It’s really important to us that as many people give their views as possible so we get a very clear picture of what people across the county are thinking and what their priorities are.”
Take part in the Your Council Your Voice Survey
The survey runs until Sunday 1 December 2019. People taking part have the chance to win £100 of shopping vouchers in a prize draw. Papers copies are available on request by email haveyoursay@derbyshire.gov.uk.
No decisions about the budget have yet been made and the Cabinet will consider the survey responses relating to the budget, along with budget proposals, at a meeting in January 2020.
Derbyshire residents will be given the chance to have their say about individual proposals which may affect them after decisions have been made about the overall budget.
Responses relating to non-budget issues in the survey will be used to help shape and improve services in the year ahead.
