The Council budget - have your say

This consultation has ended.

About the consultation - why it took place

The council conducts an annual budget questionnaire to seek the views of residents and employees about:

Budget options and proposals for the coming year and beyond
Ideas about how the council might save money or increase its income

The 2011/12 budget consultation took place in the context of big reductions in public sector funding announced by the Government in December 2010. This means that the council needs to find savings of around £35 million in 2011/12.

How the findings have been used

The findings from the survey were considered in finalising the council's Medium Term Financial Plan.

Who was consulted and how many people gave opinions?

The 2011/12 budget questionnaire was made available in a number of ways:

An electronic version of the survey questionnaire was placed on this website and was available for completion by anyone. The online survey went live on 19 November and ended on Thursday 16 December
5000 paper copies of the questionnaire were sent out by post to a random sample of households in the borough. Those receiving the questionnaire were also given the option of completing it online
The paper version of the survey questionnaire was available on request from the Community Involvement Team

The questionnaire was completed by 1103 people.

In addition to the resident's questionnaire the council held consultation meetings with voluntary sector organisations, trades unions and business representatives.

Which area/s it covered

This consultation covered the whole borough.

Key findings

Some of the key findings from the budget questionnaire were:

88.9% of respondents expressed some support for the council's proposal to reduce the number of buildings it has
87.3% of respondents expressed some support for the council's proposal to work together with partners, including neighbouring councils, to reduce costs by sharing some services
68.7% expressed some support for the council's proposal to make greater use of private sector organisations to deliver its services in the future
63.9 of respondents expressed some support for the proposal to encourage voluntary and community sector organisations to take responsibility for delivering some of our services
72.8% of respondents expressed some support for the proposal to reduce the amount we spend on maintaining open spaces.
69.8% of respondents expressed some support for reducing the frequency of grey waste bin collections
84.9% of respondents expressed some support for the option of transferring leisure facilities to an independent, non profit making trust
60.6% of respondents identified 'A regenerated South Tyneside with increased businesses and jobs' as being the most important of the council's 4 stated priorities to them