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January 2025 - Local Government

74% of respondents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live survey finds. According to a recent survey on residents' satisfaction with their councils, nearly three-quarters of those surveyed are happy with their local area as a place to live.  However, trust in local councils and the perception of whether they offer value for money has declined.

Between 25th October and 10th November 2024, a representative random sample of 1,000 British adults (aged 18 or over) was polled by Yonder Data Solutions by telephone, as part of the Local Government Associations tri-annual polling on residents’ satisfaction with councils.  

Respondents were asked about 6 key areas of satisfaction including overall satisfaction with their local area; their local council; value for money; their council’s responsiveness; service-specific satisfaction; and how well informed they are about their council. They were also polled about trust in forms of government.

Just over half (56%) of residents polled expressed satisfaction with their council's management. Additionally, more than two-thirds (69%) indicated that they trust their local council to make decisions regarding the provision of services in their area, rather than the government. However, when asked how much they trust their local council/s overall, only 50% said they trusted their council ‘a great deal’ or ‘a fair amount’. This represents the lowest outcome for this particular marker since the surveys started in 2012 and is significantly lower than the 71% who said they trusted their council in June 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When asked if they believed that their council provides value for money only around a third (36%) of respondents agreed. While ‘value for money’ has habitually had a less favourable satisfaction rating than the other key areas polled, this also represents the lowest rating since 2012.

On a positive note, over half of the respondents (53%) stated they were happy with the level of their council's responsiveness to residents’ concerns; the highest result since June 2022. And, when questioned about their satisfaction with several service-specific council services, pavement maintenance (44%), road maintenance (31%) and service and support for children and younger people all (36%) scored higher than the previous survey (cf. 41%, 27% and 33% respectively).  

While this latest survey highlights some improvement in residents' satisfaction in certain key areas (such as councils’ responsiveness), it also acknowledges that other areas (such as value for money and trust,) require improvement.

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