Poor turnout for survey on council changes

A borough-wide survey asking residents for their opinions on how the council

involves the community in decision making has received a disappointing number of

responses.

Over the summer Wigan Council announced that it was embarking on a review of

the way the council makes decisions affecting communities across the borough in

a bid to explore the possibility of alternative arrangements that would enable

people to get more involved.

Known as the Community Governance Review, the exercise was prompted in part

by calls for town councils to be created in a number of communities across the

borough.

The council used the opportunity to expand the scope of the review and ask

residents, businesses, community groups, voluntary organisations and others for

their views on the present arrangements and what they might like to see in the

future.

A leaflet containing a questions and comments section was sent to every

household in the borough, approximately 140,000, with the council’s residents’

magazine Borough Life.

Residents were also signposted to the leaflet through an article in the

magazine itself.

Questions asked included what residents thought of the arrangements as they

stand and whether they would like to see a parish or town council to cover their

area. The results of the survey saw just 783 responses received by the council,

32 of which were spoilt – this accounts for less than 0.6 per cent of the

population of the borough.

Residents were given the opportunity to fill in and return the form or

complete it on-line via the council’s website. Of this number, 108 were filled

in on-line.

At the full Council meeting on Wednesday 8th September Members debated the

results of the review and concluded that in view of the limited response no

further action should be taken at this time to pursue the review further.

Members debated the reasons for the limited response which it was considered

could range from lack of a demand for a change through to a failure by the

consultation process to engage residents sufficiently.

Borough Solicitor Kevin Lawson says: “In looking at whether or not residents

wanted to have a parish or town council in their area, the results show an

overall response of 381 in favour and 379 against. While this varied from ward

to ward the response level did not reflect the numbers of signatures in

petitions that had been handed in.

“Following this initial consultation it was anticipated that a further, more

detailed survey could be issued to residents in areas where there was a clear

demand for a change but the Council considered that there was at this time no

clear evidence of such a desire for change.”