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Fife People’s Panel Members’ Newsletter November 2011 What’s in Survey 16? When we asked Panel members what they’d like to give their opinions on, the topic which came top of the list was “roads and pavements”. As promised, we have taken your views on board and the bulk of our latest survey is asking for your views on the roads and pavements in your local area – and in Fife as a whole. A few years ago, the Fifelife magazine had a “makeover” after a survey of readers. The team who produce Fifelife would like to know what you think of the magazine now – does it need improvement, or are you happy with it as it is? Finally, we’re asking you about Choose Life. Some members have already completed an online survey about Choose Life – if you have, you can skip that section in Survey 16. We’re making changes...... Following our recent survey of Panel members, a considerable number asked us to increase the text size in questionnaires. We’ve done that for the latest survey, but we’ve also increased the text size in our newsletter – hopefully making it easier for you to read. Gearing up for winter Of all the surveys we have carried out, those that attracted most comments from you were when we asked about your experience of the severe weather which we suffered during the last two winters. The information and opinions you supplied formed part of a major review of how Fife Council handles extreme conditions, and plans for this winter are now in place. Scotland practically ground to a halt last winter as snow blanketed the country. Despite increasing its salt stocks from 8,000 to 21,000 tonnes last year, in common with other councils across Scotland, Fife's stockpile fell dangerously low by mid December and salt conservation measures had to be imposed. This meant only a limited service could be provided, with council workers concentrating on major routes until further stocks could be delivered. By the end of the winter 26,000 tonnes had been used but it is estimated that had conservation measures not been introduced, between 36,000 and 40,000 tonnes would have been needed to keep the roads network moving. However, this year Fife Council is ready for Arctic conditions returning and plans are in place to keep Fife “open for business”: • 40,000 tonnes of salt have been ordered - almost three times more than would be used in an “average” year • Additional equipment has been bought to help clear roads • Small gritters for treating secondary roads and narrower housing estate roads more efficiently have been added to the fleet • 3,000 grit bins will be in place and 3,000 one-tonne sacks of grit to encourage self-help in keeping streets and pavements open • Financial reserves have been allocated to deal with any extra cost incurred in the event of extreme weather • A guide on how the Council responds to severe weather has been published and placed in libraries and local services centres • The Winter Gritting and Snow Clearing Service guide can also be viewed at www.fifedirect.org.uk/winter, along with more information on gritting routes and grit bin locations Although we hope that the extra measures in place won’t be necessary, if we ARE hit by another severe winter, Fife should be ready for it........ Thank you! One of the great benefits of the People’s Panel is that we can contact around 2000 members by e-mail. Amongst other things, this lets us send links to online consultations which members might be interested in. NHS Scotland is currently reviewing The Scottish Breast Screening Programme (SBSP), and an online survey was set up to provide evidence for the review. We invited Panel members to complete the survey, or encourage family and friends to do so – and it looks like you really got behind this one. Of the 4958 responses to the survey, 656 (13%) were from Fife. This might not sound much, but it’s almost twice as many as we would expect if the response rates were in line with the population. Of course, we can’t be sure that boost in responses came from People’s Panel members, but it does seem likely – so a big “Thank you” to everyone who contributed to this important project. Dog fouling – how you can help When asked “If you saw a dog walker not picking up, would you phone the Council Dog Warden Service to provide details?”, more than half of all respondents said they would NOT. The main reason for not reporting was “don’t know how to report it”. You can report someone for not cleaning up after their dog by phoning 08451 550022, and we may be able to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice on your evidence. • • • Your details will be completely confidential If you can’t phone in at the time, you can provide the time and location of the offence and Wardens can target their patrols to catch persistent offenders The more information provided to the Dog Warden Service, the more chance we have of catching offenders Alternatively, you can contact the Dog Warden Service by post at: Fife Council Transportation & Environmental Services, Prestonhall Depot, Cupar, KY15 4RD Help is at hand... Our recent survey highlighted that 65% of those who responded were not aware that Fife has free, independent money advice services. These services can help you find the best option to deal with your debts and advise you on making the most of your income. You can also get advice if you face: • creditors threatening to take you to court • being evicted • having your gas or electricity cut off • compulsory deductions from your wages • arrestment of your bank account • becoming insolvent (bankruptcy) If you would like more information about money advice services, contact: Fife Council Money Advice Team Kingdom House, Glenrothes KY7 5LT 01592 583123 OR Citizens Advice & Rights Fife (CARF) Offices in: Glenrothes, Kirkcaldy, Dunfermline, Cowdenbeath, Cupar, St Andrews & Levenmouth 08451 400 095 Updating our records We keep a tight rein on the costs involved in running the People’s Panel, and it is a very cost-effective way of getting to know what you think of the services provided in Fife. However, sometimes we have to spend money in order to save it….. The number of paper responses we receive has dropped over the last year or so, but we don’t know why. We need to make sure that our records are up to date, so we’re asking you to send back a checklist confirming that we have your correct details. This will help us to make sure that we’re sending the surveys and newsletters to the right people at the right addresses – saving paper and postage costs in the future. Full results of Survey 15 are available, along with the results of previous surveys, online at www.fifedirect.org.uk/peoplespanel If you would like a paper copy of the results of any of our surveys, please contact Betsy Wojcik on 01592 583138 / [email protected] Survey 15 Results Survey 15 was sent to 2811 Panel members. Responses were received from 1288 (46%) members. Dog fouling • 87% of members who have a dog always clean up after them • 46% think that most dog walkers clean up after their dogs • However, more than half (54%) felt that dog fouling had decreased since the introduction of the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 • When asked if they would approach someone who had not cleaned up after their dog: 39% said Yes, 37% said No, and 21% didn’t know • Only 25% said that they would phone the Council Dog Warden Service to provide details of a dog walker not picking up • The main reasons given for not contacting the Dog Warden were: • Didn’t know how to report it • Didn’t realise the Council was interested in this • Worried the offender might find out about the call Fire safety • Only 1 in 3 members could recall having recently seen/heard a fire safety message • Of those who HAD recalled a recent fire safety message, 86% said it referred to smoke alarms/detectors • 32% of respondents had taken action in the last 12 months to improve fire safety in their homes • Of those who had taken action, 73% (304) had installed smoke detectors and 62% (261) now closed their doors at night Road safety • Only 6% (74) members had attended a Safe Drive – Stay Alive roadshow in the last 7 years. Although this is a very low number, it should be noted that the roadshows are aimed at 16 – 17 year olds, and only 109 Panel members are aged 25 or under • Of those who had attended a roadshow, 89% felt it was a worthwhile experience, and 86% said it made them think about road safety Money Advice • When asked where they would go for money advice / debt counselling, 20% said they would go to a Citizens Advice bureau and 11% said they would seek advice from a bank • 10% of respondents did not know where to seek advice and 65% were not aware that Fife has free, independent money advice services Survey 15 Results Fife Fire & Rescue Service • 81% of respondents thought that Fife Fire & Rescue Service (FFRS) represents good value for money • When asked if it would be reasonable for FFRS to charge for services: • 69% agreed with charging for fitting smoke detectors • Only 35% agreed with charging for home safety advice • When asked to rank priorities for FFRS, 65% ranked “responding to emergencies” as top priority • Only 14% felt that “keeping costs to a minimum” should be a top priority • 83% agreed that FFRS should target more resources to provide better fire prevention • 81% agreed that FFRS should target more resources towards vulnerable people • 168 (13%) respondents stated that they had contacted FFRS in the last 3 years, but only 41 had contacted FFRS because of a fire related emergency • Of those who had contacted FFRS, 85% were “very satisfied” with the service they had received • At least 50% of respondents felt that they were not well informed about: • What the Fire Service spends money on (70%) • What standards of service they should expect (50%) • Whether the Fire Service delivers its promises (68%) • How well the Fire Service is performing (66%) • The respondents feeling of not being well informed was confirmed when they were asked to agree or disagree with 13 statements about FFRS – although there was a generally positive perception of the Service, between 21% and 58% responded “don’t know” to the statements Severe weather • When asked how the bad weather limited their normal activities on a scale of 1 (not at all) to 5 (extremely), more than half of all respondents rated the limitation as 4 or 5 • 70% of respondents said that they had received help during the severe weather, and 77% said that they had given help to others • 59 respondents (5%) stated that the severe weather had cost them in excess of £1000 (costs included missed work, home damage, excess heating costs, and/or loss of business)