23/6/2009 - Cumbria - a place where you belong : Cumbria County Council

Cumbria ranks as the top county in England for a local sense of belonging, with 69.3% of Cumbrians saying they feel they belong to their neighbourhood.

The figure is revealed in the national Place Survey, a major consultation carried out by local authorities across England every two years. The results of the survey provide a snapshot of public opinion and satisfaction with life in the county, public services, democracy, voluntary work, crime and disorder.

Other areas in which Cumbria is the top-ranking county council (out of a total of 27 English county councils) is for the extent to which older people believe the right support is there for them to live independently (38.3%) and for the percentage of people who believe their local council and police understands their concerns about anti-social behaviour and crime issues (30.3%).

Cumbriais the second-ranking county out of 27 on three other of the survey's 18 'national indicators', which provide the Government with important information on how the public sector is performing in Cumbria:

- The percentage of local people who would know what to do in the event of a large-scale emergency (21.7%)

- The satisfaction of people aged over 65 with both home and neighbourhood (90.2%)

- The percentage of local people who believe the local council and police are dealing with local concerns about anti-social behaviour and crime issues (31.2%)

National indicators where Cumbria ranks relatively low (23rd out of 27) are as follows:

- The number of people who think drugs are a local problem (27.1%)

- The number of people who think parents don't take responsibility for the behaviour of their children (35.0%)

- The number of people who agree they've been treated fairly by local services in the last year (73.2%)

As well as the national indicators, the survey also gives an important snapshot of how people feel services are working in general. Two thirds (67%) of Cumbrians agree that local public services are working to make the area safer and a similar proportion (68%) agree that local public services are working to make the area cleaner and greener.

85% of Cumbrians are either fairly or very satisfied with their local area as a place to live, but this figure drops considerably both nationally and locally when people are asked whether they're satisfied with their councils. 35% said they were satisfied with Cumbria County Council and the average for district councils in the county was 37%.

For Cumbrians, the most important factor in making somewhere a good place to live is the level of crime (57%), followed by health services (46%) and affordable decent housing (44%). The most common response when asking what needs to be improved was activities for teenagers (50%) followed by road and pavement repairs (46%).

11,261 randomly selected Cumbrian households across all six districts completed the Place Survey (24,573 copies were distributed, giving a response rate of 46%). The last time a similar survey was carried out, in 2006, it was only two-thirds of the size of this year's survey and 8,000 Cumbrian households responded.

The survey in Cumbria was carried out by BMG Research on behalf of the county council and six district councils with input from Cumbria Constabulary and Cumbria Primary Care Trust.

Cllr Jim Buchanan, Leader of Cumbria County Council, said:

"This survey provides us with vital information on how people perceive life in the county. There are a number of encouraging indicators, but there is also plenty of scope for improvement. Our job now is to work with our public sector partners in the county to make improvements in the areas that really matter to people. The big challenge for the public sector will be to deliver better services for less money, given the very difficult economic climate we're all living in."

National results on Place Surveys across England are available at:
http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/placesurvey2008

The full Cumbria Place Survey 2008, which includes district-by-district breakdowns of figures, is available at:
http://www.cumbria.gov.uk/eLibrary/Content/Internet//536/671/4081/39987132252.pdf

Media enquiries to Gareth Cosslett, News Manager on 01228 226332