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News

Council Gets Residents' Seal Of Approval

Borough of Poole has been rated as the best performing Unitary Authority in the country - judged on residents' satisfaction with Council services.

Figures published by the Audit Commission showed that Borough of Poole was the top-rated of 46 Unitary Authorities in England, based on overall levels of customer satisfaction.

The 2006 Best Value Residents Satisfaction Survey revealed 63% of residents who responded to the questionnaire said that, overall, they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the performance of the Council - an increase of 10% on the results of a similar survey in 2003.

As well as being the top-rated Unitary Authority, Borough of Poole was ranked sixth overall out of 149 local councils in England.

The survey was carried out across the country and sent to 3,000 Poole residents chosen at random to find out what they think of Council services. More than 1300 responses were received.

Residents were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with the Council, based on factors such as waste collection, recycling, and cleanliness.

Some 93% of respondents said they were either satisfied or very satisfied with waste collection provided by the Council and 76% stated the same level of satisfaction with the cleanliness of the Borough.

John McBride, Chief Executive, Borough of Poole, said: "We are delighted by the results. It is really encouraging that the efforts made to improve services are appreciated by the public -it is a testament to the staff who have worked so hard to maintain a high standard. The Borough of Poole will continue to strive for excellence in more areas of service. We are not complacent and there is still a lot of work to be done, however this can be done with the knowledge that we are moving in the right direction."

Cllr Brian Leverett, Leader of the Council, said: "It is brilliant news that we are recognised nationally as the best performing unitary authority especially as we are the worst funded. We remain totally committed to providing the best possible services to all our residents whilst at the same time keeping council tax rises as low as possible."

The survey was held between September and November 2006 and was managed by an independent market research company, BMG Research Ltd., who submitted the data to
the Audit Commission which has collated the survey results of more than 140 local authorities across England.

Ian Turner, Media Relations Officer, Borough of Poole, tel: 01202 633295