Online budget survey deadline
A SURVEY which will help Derbyshire County Council bosses decide how and where to spend their next year’s budget is due to close on Sunday.
The “Your Council Your Voice” survey gives residents a chance to tell the authority what they think about the services they use, how satisfied they are with them and which ones are most important to them and why.
The online survey also asks residents whether the Covid-19 pandemic has changed their opinion of the county council and the services it provides, and if it has had an impact on their satisfaction with the way the authority runs things.
Divided into sections, the questionnaire asks residents how satisfied they are with where they live, if they are proud of Derbyshire and if they think it is a safe place e to live.
People are also asked if they are involved d in any organisations or groups, whether r they offer help and support to others as a volunteer and if they feel supported and know where to get advice and support.
The survey includes the council’s ’s annual budget cononsultation, with quest tions about how th the authority sh should prioritise its budget for the com coming year.
Peop People are asked to list their top and bottom three priorities from a list of services the council provides, with an opportunity to give additional information about why they have ranked services as high or low priority.
They are also asked to look at a range of options the council could
consider in order to save money or raise additional revenue and to rank them in order of preference.
The options include reducing or stopping less important services and putting more services online to increasing council tax or using council assets to win business from the private sector. People are also able to add their own suggestions.
Derbyshire County Council leader Barry Lewis said: “It’s more important than ever that we know if Derbyshire residents think we’re getting it right, what changes they’d like to see and whether their priorities have changed from last year.
“We are also keen to know if people are volunteering in their communities, whether people feel supported and know where to go for advice or help in a crisis and if their opinions of the services we provide have changed as a result of the pandemic,” he added.
The survey can be found by visiting www.derbyshire.gov.uk/yourvoice2020
Papers copies are available by calling 01629 533190.
No decisions about the council’s budget have been made and the council’s Cabinet will consider the survey responses relating to the budget, along with budget proposals, at a meeting in early 2021.
Derbyshire residents will be given the chance to have their say about individual proposals which may affect them after decisions have been made about the overall budget.
Responses relating to non-budget issues in the survey will be used to help shape and improve council services in the year ahead.
It’s more important than ever that we know if Derbyshire residents think we’re getting it right. Barry Lewis