Residents’ Perception Survey 2021 – Key Findings

Residents’ Perception Survey 2021 – Key Findings for West Locality

Between July and September 2021 M·E·L Research carried out a randomly sampled postal survey of Southend-on-Sea residents on behalf of Southend-on-Sea City Council. The aim of this research was to gather fresh insight into residents perceptions of their local area, community interactions and resident behaviours. It also sought views on Southend-on-Sea City Councils performance.

8,500 residential addresses across Southend-on-Sea were randomly sampled, proportionate to ward population in July 2021. Addresses were selected from the Royal Mails Postal Address File. In total, 1,206 surveys were received by the final deadline of 1st October 2021. This equates to a response rate of 14%.

The council has split Southend-on-Sea into four localities. This is to support the co-ordination of integrated health and social care interventions within the community. The four localities are:

  • West
  • West Central
  • East Central
  • East

Responses from across the four localities of Southend-on-Sea were as follows:

  • West - 310 surveys completed;
  • West Central - 401 surveys completed;
  • East Central - 169 surveys completed
  • East - 326 surveys completed

This page shows key results from the 2021 Residents Perception Survey for the West locality. Percentages have been rounded and therefore may not equate to 100%.

Local Government Association (LGA) resident satisfaction benchmarks from June 2021 polling have been included where available to benchmark results against national polling figures for local government. These benchmarks are derived from a telephone polling methodology rather than the self-completion (postal and online) method used among Southend residents.

Response rates for Southend-on-Sea have been provided to enable benchmarking against the city as a whole.

Satisfaction with Southend-on-Sea City Council

How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the way Southend-on-Sea City Council runs things?

Use first column for response, then move across for West Locality response rate percentage and Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage.
Response West Locality response rate percentage Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage
Very satisfied 6 7
Fairly satisfied 54 46
Neither 15 17
Fairly Dis-satisfied 12 16
Very Dis-satisfied 11 12
Don't Know 2 2
  • Overall satisfaction is 8 percentage points below the LGA benchmark (68%).

Agreement that Southend-on-Sea City Council provides value for money

To what extent do you agree or disagree that Southend-on-Sea City Council provides value for money?

Use first column for response, then move across for West Locality response rate percentage and Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage.
Response West Locality response rate percentage Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage
Strongly Agree 2 4
Tend to Agree 29 29
Neither 24 22
Tend to Dis-agree 26 29
Strongly Dis-agree 8 6
Don't Know 10 9
  • agreement that the council provides value for money is 18 percentage points below the LGA benchmark (49%). 

Satisfaction with local area

Overall, how satisfied or dissatisfied are you with your local area as a place to live?

Use first column for response, then move across for West Locality response rate percentage and Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage.
Response West Locality response rate percentage Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage
Very satisfied 22 17
Fairly satisfied 61 55
Neither 5 8
Fairly Dis-satisfied 8 14
Very Dis-satisfied 3 5
  • satisfaction is 1 percentage point above the LGA benchmark (82%).

Safety during the day

How safe or unsafe do you feel when outside in your local area during the day?

Use first column for response, then move across for West Locality response rate percentage and Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage.
Response West Locality response rate percentage Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage
Very safe 40 32
Fairly safe 47 49
Neither 6 6
Fairly Unsafe 5 9
Very Unsafe 2 4
  • feelings of safety during the day are 7 percentage points below the LGA benchmark (94%)

Safety after dark

How safe or unsafe do you feel when outside in your local area after dark?

Use first column for response, then move across for West Locality response rate percentage and Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage.
Response West Locality response rate percentage Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage
Very safe 6 5
Fairly safe 49 37
Neither 4 7
Fairly Unsafe 26 29
Very Unsafe 14 22
  • feelings of safety after dark are 24 percentage points below the LGA benchmark (79%)

Support during COVID-19

How satisfied or dissatisfied are you with the way Southend-on-Sea City Council is supporting you and your household during the coronavirus pandemic?

Use first column for response, then move across for West Locality response rate percentage and Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage.
Response West Locality response rate percentage Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage
Very satisfied 9 10
Fairly satisfied 29 27
Neither 50 46
Fairly Dis-satisfied 9 10
Very Dis-satisfied 4 8

Acting on concerns

To what extent do you think that Southend-on-Sea City Council acts on the concerns of local residents?

Use first column for response, then move across for West Locality response rate percentage and Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage.  
Response West Locality response rate percentage Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage
A great deal 2 3
A fair amount 27 24
Not very much 29 34
Not at all 13 15
Don't Know 29 23
  • the proportion of residents who feel their concerns are acted upon by the Council is 33 percentage points below the LGA benchmark (62%) 

Keeping services running

How well or not is Southend-on-Sea City Council managing to keep its services running as normal during the coronavirus pandemic?

Use first column for response, then move across for West Locality response rate percentage and Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage.  
Response West Locality response rate percentage Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage
Very well 18 15
Fairly well 51 51
Not very well 9 11
Not well at all 6 6
Don't Know 16 17

Being informed about council services

Overall, how well informed do you think Southend-on-Sea City Council keeps residents about the services and benefits it provides?

Use first column for response, then move across for West Locality response rate percentage and Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage.  
Response West Locality response rate percentage Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage
Very well informed 2 4
Fairly well informed 31 30
Not very well informed 37 39
Not well at all informed 15 19
Don't Know 15 8
  • the proportion of residents who feel well informed by the Council is 28 percentage points below the LGA benchmark (61%)

Effect of lack of digital skills on accessing services, help and support

Do you agree or disagree with this statement - “My lack of skills with the internet / digital technology have made it difficult for me to access services, help or support during the pandemic”

Use first column for response, then move across for West Locality response rate percentage and Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage.  
Response West Locality response rate percentage Southend-on-Sea response rate percentage
Strongly Agree 9 9
Tend to Agree 8 7
Neither 13 13
Tend to Dis-agree 12 11
Strongly Dis-agree 55 56
Don't Know 4 4

For more information about the 2021 Residents’ Perception Survey and to view the full survey report, please contact insights@southend.gov.uk.

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