Citizens’ Panel

Autumn/Winter 2005/2006

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Welcome to the latest Citizens’ Panel Newsletter. In this edition we’ll let you know the findings from the latest survey which included questions on Sport and Culture, Building Schools for the Future, Libraries, Community Involvement in Planning and Living in Our Communities.

In this newsletter:

• Community Involvement in the Planning Process
• Sport and Culture
• Building Schools for the Future
• Library Opening Hours
• Living in Your Community
• Panel Evaluation

Community Involvement in the Planning Process

89% of Panel members think that the Council should place information in the local media to inform the public about planning issues.

Two-thirds of Panel members believe it is important that those directly affected by planning applications should be consulted and a similar number. 

If Panel members were asked to take part in the planning process, the preferred method would be through written questionnaires (71%) followed by face-to-face meetings (59%).

When asked for any comments on the planning process, Panel members stressed the need to keep all relevant parties informed from the beginning.

We would like to thank all those Panel members that offered to take part in a group discussion about community involvement in the planning process. We held a very useful discussion on the 8th September, involving officers from the Planning department and a number of people from the Panel. People asked to attend were selected from random from the list of Panel members that agreed to take part. The information from the discussion will be used to help improve the service we offer. We'll tell you about some of the changes in the next newsletter

Sport and Culture

We wanted to find out how often Panel members take part in a physical activity that lasts at least 30 minutes.

Around one-third of Panel members walk for the purpose of exercise three or more times a week.

The main reason stated for not taking part in the physical activities was a lack of interest.

We wanted to know which Tameside events Panel members have attended and would like to attend. 55% of Panel members have attended the Christmas lights switch-on and a further 21% would like to attend this event in the future. 46% of Panel members have attended the Brass Band competition and a further 24% would like to attend this event in the future.

Panel members would most like to see a music event or festival added to the events timetable.

We asked what kind of exhibitions and displays you would like to see in local museums and art galleries. The top choice was art and craft exhibitions including local residents’ work (37%) followed by a local history exhibition (28%).

Building Schools for the Future

The Government plans to transform secondary education and the Council wanted to find out the views of Panel members about what’s important when planning schools.

Most Panel members (95%) think schools should hold fewer than 1200 pupils. Only 4% thought schools should hold between 1350 and 1500 pupils.

Panel members think that it is important that special schools are located at the same site as mainstream schools, and also that schools are co-educational.

The Government wants schools to become ‘extended schools’ which means they will have facilities available to the public outside school hours. Facilities Panel members say they would use if they were available at schools include:

• Library and information services (83% say they would use)
• Swimming Pool (78%)
• Adult Learning (75%)
• Health Services (75%)

We also wanted to know which skills Panel members think it is important young people are taught. Panel members believe that it is very important that young people are taught about responsibility (85% think this is important) and also how to use their own initiative (82%).

Library Opening Hours

78% of Panel members have visited a library in Tameside in the last two years. Nearly half of the people who do go to libraries attend at least once a month.

One third of Panel members say they would use libraries more if their opening hours were extended. This is particularly true for younger members of the panel and members in employment. When asked about specific extended opening members would prefer libraries to be open until 7.30pm everyday and 32% wanted libraries to remain open until 9pm on two  evenings and to close earlier during the rest of the week.

21% of Panel members would be prepared to travel to a library outside of their immediate area if it offered extended opening hours. 

The most popular day to visit a library is Monday. The least popular time is between noon and 2pm. Most people prefer to visit earlier in the morning or after 5pm at night.

We wanted to know what would encourage you to make more use of libraries within Tameside. 26% of people that gave a suggestion stated more up-to-date collections and a wider range of books would encourage them to attend. 17% also said they wished for more flexible opening hours.

Living in Your Community

Tameside Council feels that it is important to build a community where people feel confident that they belong and are comfortable mixing and interacting with others. We wanted to know your thoughts about living in Tameside.

Panel members feel they belong to England (84%), the local neighbourhood (76%) and Britain (77%).

58% of Panel members agree that the local area is a place where people from different backgrounds get on well together and 68% agree that the local area is a place where residents respect ethnic differences between people.

Panel Evaluation

Each year we evaluate how the panel is working and look for ways to improve what we do. We wanted people to tell us about being a Panel member.

In terms of the questionnaires, Panel members are happy with the size of print (95%), instructions for completing the questionnaires (93%), the layout (88%) and the frequency of the questionnaires (86%). Panel members are less happy with the clarity of some of the questions (79%) - so this is an area we need to work on in future.

Panel members are happy with the level of feedback they receive. Only 17% of Panel members say they don't receive enough feedback. We are currently working with services to improve the level of feedback we give to you.