Background
Between the end of September and mid December 2008, people across the country were asked to have their say about their local area in a programme of major surveys called the Place Survey.
Most of the questions in the survey were set by the Department for Communities and Local Government and the Audit Commission, who also gave strict guidance on how the surveys should be carried out.
The surveys were carried out across the whole country over the same period, but organised locally. The surveys in Northamptonshire were conducted by a specialist market research company 'Marketing Means', on behalf of a partnership made up of the county council, each of Northamptonshire's borough and district councils, Northamptonshire Police and Northamptonshire Police Authority.
25,200 surveys were sent out to randomly selected households across the county, giving residents the opportunity to have their say on a series of important themes:
- The local area
- Local public services
- Information you receive from local public bodies
- Local decision-making
- Helping out and getting involved - finding out about voluntary work in the community
- Respect and consideration
- Community safety
We received 11,619 completed surveys, a 47% response rate.
Results
On the 23rd June 2009 the Department for Communities and Local Government announced the results of the 2008 Place Survey. This follows a review which considered the data according to official statistics principles: