Citizen's Panel Newsletter

Winter 2007

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This is the latest Citizens’ Panel update where we tell you about the results from our winter 2007 survey. Thank you so much to those of you who have been involved in the Panel over the past year and a warm welcome if you are new to the Panel. Your views help shape the planning and development of services across the council and we hope you will continue to help us make a real difference to Tameside.

In this newsletter:

• Parks and Open Spaces
• Community Cohesion
• Volunteering
• Scrutiny Panels
• Council Tax 
• Sport and Physical Activity
• NHS Dental Services

Are You Enjoying Tameside’s Parks and Open Spaces?

This section of the survey aimed to raise awareness of Tameside’s parks and open spaces, assess how much you use them, and see how satisfied you are with them. Since Tameside’s parks and open spaces have been recognised for their quality at a national level, the Council wants to ensure that all local residents are able to access and enjoy them on a regular basis. We are using your views to drive improvements in your local parks!

The results show that 23% of panel members use Tameside’s parks and open spaces at least once a week, with 8% using them almost every day. The majority (82%) were satisfied with the quality of parks and open spaces within Tameside and most agreed that the parks are clean, well maintained and welcoming.

However nearly one in ten panel members have never visited a park or open space in Tameside and there is mention of some concern about local parks not being safe and secure, particularly among disabled residents.

What are we are doing about this?

• We have redesigned some of our parks to eliminate potential crime spots and tidied up areas with overgrown shrubbery such as in Cedar Park, Oxford Park and Stamford Park.
• We are working with the police and patrollers regarding anti-social behaviour in parks among youths, particularly in preparation for the summer months.
• We have highlighted the issue of safety and security, so that our district assembly areas can bring this into local planning and community strategy.
• We are organising and promoting future events to take place within our parks and open spaces, such as Tulip Sunday at Stamford Park in April, Splendid Weekend in Hyde Park in July, and Bands in the Park over Summer at Denton Park.
  

Are You Playing Your Part in Your Community?

The Council wants to build a strong community in Tameside by promoting cohesion and integration between all of its residents. The Council wanted to find out what panel members feel about community cohesion in Tameside.

The results showed that there is a reasonable amount of interaction between people of different ethnic backgrounds within the borough:

• 64% of the panel interacts with people of different ethnic backgrounds in local shops, 53% at work and 42% in restaurants.
• Three in five panel members agreed that respect and tolerance exists between Tameside residents of different ethnic backgrounds.
  

What are we doing about this?

• Tameside is working hard to promote and encourage community cohesion through cultural events. For instance we hosted Chinese New Year celebrations in Ashton market this February and are currently consulting on future Eid celebrations throughout the borough.
• The Interfaith Network are setting up a young people’s faiths forum – this group will meet quarterly to discuss and promote the understanding of different faiths, for instance, how to bring people together from different faiths and develop positive interfaith relationships through participation in activities and events.
• We are also delivering a series of training sessions for staff to deal with local Hate Crime.

Volunteering

We asked you whether you had volunteered your own time to local clubs, groups or organisations within the last year. Overall three out of ten panellists had volunteered time in the last year - 18% volunteer an average of at least two hours per week and 12% had volunteered less than two hours a week.

What are we doing about this?

• We will continue to work in partnership with the voluntary sector to promote volunteering within Tameside. Have you visited Tameside’s Volunteer Centre lately?
  If not check out www.tamesidevb.org.uk

How Closely do You Want to Look at Local Issues?

Tameside Council wants to raise awareness of its four Scrutiny Panels - because they provide an opportunity for local residents to have their say, influence services and ensure that local decision makers are making the best choices for their community.

The results showed that before the Winter Survey around two-fifths of residents had heard of Scrutiny Panels. This is an increase from the 32% of residents in 2006, and 25% in 2005.

What are we doing about this?

The Scrutiny Panels will continue to:

• Work hard and look in depth at specific issues.
• Work with specific bodies and engage the public in certain projects, for instance working with local schools, teachers, parents and children on issues such as bullying, teenage pregnancy and staying on rates in education.
• Welcome involvement and seek the views of members of the public on services that are being considered – see our website on how to contact us.

Your Council Tax Bill

Tameside Council wants to continually improve its services and is always looking at how services are being delivered for local residents.

Results showed that Council taxpayers generally find their bill clear, helpful, and easy to understand. Most panellists choose to contact the Council Tax service over the phone, and of these you were generally happy with the service you received. Seven in ten pay their bill by Direct Debit and the majority had never accessed the Council Tax service via email (87%) or through the internet (85%) even though they found the website easy to navigate around and use. Lastly 59% of panel members would not consider using electronic Council Tax bills.

Sport and Physical Activity

Tameside Council wants everyone in the borough to enjoy good physical and mental health and wellbeing. This means helping people to lead healthy lifestyles – part of which is through regular physical activity.

We found that most panellists (85%) engage in a total of 30 minutes of physical activity at least one day a week. Just over half (54%) participate in sport or recreational activities (at least a 30 minute session), such as going to the gym or cycling for pleasure.

What are we doing about this?

• Work is being done to promote physical activity across the borough, such as a launch at the Portland Basin Health Exhibition in May.
• We have secured funding to refurbish sports facilities in Ashton, Copley and Hyde, which will bring state of the art fitness facilities at an affordable cost.
• We have decided to extend our gentle exercise and health walks, which target older people, and to develop a full programme to be accessed throughout the borough.
• We are developing a programme to increase participation in football and to improve the quality of football provision in the area.
  

Dental Services

One of our Scrutiny Panels is using your views to determine whether any improvements have been made with access to and availability of NHS dental services in Tameside.

Results showed 64% of Tameside residents are registered with dentists as NHS patients, whilst 16% are registered privately. Those who were registered privately, or not registered with a dentist at all, were unable to register or continue as an NHS patient.

• 92% of panellists found it very or fairly easy to book a dentist appointment as a private patient, compared to 82% of NHS patients.
  
• There was a mixed level of satisfaction in Tameside with 46% satisfied and 42% dissatisfied with the provision of NHS dental services within the borough.
  

If you have any comments, ideas or queries about the Citizens’ Panel please contact:

Contact Information
Send us a Message	Policy and Performance Tameside MBC Council Offices Wellington Road Ashton under Lyne OL6 6DL  View local map
0161 342 3529