Issue - meetings

That:

1.  That a Resident Survey be undertaken in 2017.

2.  Note the timetable for consultation set out at section 3.

3.  That the committee review the options set out at section 4 and agree the consultation methodology.

The Policy and Information Manager gave a presentation on this item which covered the following:

·  The residents survey was an important way to consider the views of our residents, and to compare how the views of our residents had changed since the last survey was undertaken;

·  Conducting a residents survey was no longer mandatory, although most other councils still conduct one;

·  However carrying out a consultation on the councils budget was still mandatory;

·  Therefore the preferred option within the report was that a residents survey was carried out at the same time as the budget consultation in order to reduce costs.

In response to a question from the Committee, The Policy and Information Manager explained that since July the council had run 6 large consultations, the response rate to these surveys had been an average of 983 per survey and the response rate had not declined.

RESOLVED: That

1.  A Resident Survey be undertaken in 2017.

2.  Note the timetable for consultation set out at section 3.

3.  The committee agrees the consultation methodology.

Note: Councillor Brice left the room during the consideration of this item as she disclosed that she knew one of the previous providers who had been engaged to carry out survey work for the council’s Resident Survey. She stated that she did not believe this was a disclosable interest and that she had not been lobbied on this item.