Residents’ Perception Survey 2021 – Key Findings

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 Central 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?

• overall satisfaction is 21 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?

• agreement that the council provides value for money is 17 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?

• satisfaction is 12 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?

• feelings of safety during the day are 12 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?

• feelings of safety after dark are 39 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?

Acting on concerns

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

• the proportion of residents who feel their concerns are acted upon by the Council is 38 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?

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?

• the proportion of residents who feel well informed by the Council is 30 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”

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