05 March 2008
Up to 90% of people within local communities across Wales are highly satisfied with the level of service provided by their local council.
The WLGA are delighted with the positive findings of an all-Wales survey which gathered the experiences and perceptions of service users across key local government services from education and housing to health and social services.
Responding to the Welsh Assembly Government Living in Wales survey, Steve Thomas, WLGA Chief Executive said:
“We are delighted with the findings of today’s survey. Local communities expect and have the right to first class public services. Local councils play a critical role in delivering vital frontline services to thousands of people within their communities and today’s survey shows that our efforts and approaches are paying off. We have always accepted that as public service deliverers we will ultimately be judged on the quality of our performance. Today local government can hold its head up high in the knowledge that we are getting it right when it comes to delivering for the people of Wales.”
“Despite mounting financial pressures, rising public expectation for service improvements and responding to the Welsh Assembly Government’s own public service reform agenda councils have shown quality leadership, embracing the efficiency agenda more than any other area of the Welsh public sector and at the same time have managed to keep council tax levels as low as possible. This strong focus on the delivery of outcomes and not processes was evidenced by the latest round of performance indicators for Wales which showed an improvement in 72% of the 95 indicators comparable with last year. Furthermore, last week’s Estyn annual report 2006-2007 revealed an increasing number of schools showing excellence across all seven areas of work inspected.”
“Whilst today is a cause for celebration for local council services, there is always room for improvement. Local Government’s national awards scheme Excellence Wales is aimed at delivering lasting service improvements for public service users. Whilst it is important to recognise councils’ good practice and achievements the scheme’s main aim is to improve public services through a sharing and learning approach. The Scheme is a huge success because councils invest the commitment and time to finding out what really matters to their communities and then developing or adapting services to meet those needs. It is clear demonstration of local government’s commitment to delivering long lasting improvements across Welsh public services.”
26 awards (nearly double the number of awards compared to last year) were presented to councils and the wider local government family last Friday in the third Excellence Wales ‘Celebration of Success’ evening for Welsh local government.
Ends
Notes to Editors
- The Living in Wales Survey asked 7500 people across Wales about their experiences of services like health, local government and education and found that between 70-90% of the Welsh public have positive views about the public services they use.
- Householders were questioned face-to-face about their experiences of: Social Services, Housing Services, GP Surgeries, Hospital Services, Bus Services, Early Years Education,
- Primary Schools, Secondary Schools, Recycling Facilities and Sport Facilities
Excellence Wales is run by the Welsh Local Government Association, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and supported by a range of sponsors
For a copy of the full results of the 2006 Living in Wales Survey of Citizens’ Experiences of Public Services in Wales, please call 029 2082 5643
For more information contact: Natasha Weeks