Place Survey, 2008

<br> <b>Background</b>:<br> The <i>Place Survey, 2008</i> is the first survey in a series intended to be conducted on a biennial basis. It provides information on people's perceptions of their local area and the local services they receive. It is one of the largest surveys in Europe, with over 500,000 respondents living in 329 councils in England. The survey supplies the data that inform 18 National Indicators across six Government departments. The indicators are common to all local areas, and measure how well the Government's priorities, as set out in the Comprehensive Spending Review, are being delivered by local government and their local partners. They form an important part of the New Performance Framework for Local Authorities and Local Authority Partnerships. Also collected were data that help monitor eight Departmental Strategic Objective and 11 Public Service Agreement indicators. The main aim of the survey was for unitary and top-tier local authorities to gather robust and reliable baseline information for the 18 National Indicators so that, where an indicator is part of a Local Area Agreement, improvements can be set.<br> <br> The survey is one tool available for councils and their partners to understand the views of local people. It is expected that local service providers will have many ways both of seeking direct feedback on services and of exploring perceptions of the area. The New Performance Framework expects councils and partners to use all evidence at their disposal to build a robust understanding of the area they serve and the people who live there. Within this context, the survey provides a set of national indicators that are common to all areas. However, to be properly understood, these measures will need to be interpreted in their local context and set alongside other local information.<br> <br> <b>Data Notes</b><br> Although the data file for this study contains a local authority identifier variable alongside the Government Office Region and county variables, it is not displayed via the catalogue record variable list due to technical specifications.<br> <br> Since the study was first released, the variable q16_01 (relating to whether the respondent has been a local councillor) has been removed at the request of the depositor, although this variable may still be referred to in the documentation. In addition, value labels have been added for variable q36bin (relating to respondent ethnicity), also at the request of the depositor.<br> <br> <b>Restrictions on access to the <i>Place Survey</i></b><br> At the time the <i>Place Survey, 2008</i> was carried out, the following information was given to respondents about how and by whom their responses would be used: "<i>Responses, which will not include personal information auch as names and addresses, will only be used by public service organisations to monitor public services and assess how well they are performing.</i>" Each local authority in England was responsible for carrying out the survey in their area. Authorities (with a few exceptions) have given permission for their datasets to be lodged on the UK Data Archive as a single national amalgamated file, for use by named contacts in central or local government. The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) will therefore consider applications for the use of this dataset to ensure they comply with these conditions.<br> <br> <b>Further information and publications</b>:<br> Information about the <i>Place Survey</i> and access to relevant publications, data and results are provided on DCLG's <a href="http://www.communities.gov.uk/corporate/researchandstatistics/publicdatasources/communitiesneighbourhoods/" title = "Communities and neighbourhoods (Places Database)"> Places Database</a> and <a href="http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/placesurvey2008" title = "Place Survey: England - Headline Results 2008 (Revised)"> Place Survey Results 2008</a> web pages </a> and the Audit Commission's <a href="http://www.audit-commission.gov.uk/localgov/audit/nis/pages/placesurvey.aspx" title = "Place Survey"> Place Survey </a> web page.<br> <br>