Residents to be asked for views on Shropshire Council’s highways and transport services

‘Find and fix ‘pothole repairs being carried out near Adcote

Shropshire residents are to be asked for their views on Shropshire Council’s highways and transport services – from the condition of roads and footpaths to the quality of cycling facilities – in this year’s annual National Highways and Transport (NHT) Public Satisfaction survey.

A questionnaire will be sent to a minimum random sample of at least 3,300 Shropshire residents from 16 June 2023, followed by a reminder – with local and national results to be published in late-October 2023. Since the survey is based on a sample, residents that receive a copy are being urged to take part.

Their answers will be compared with the views of residents in other council areas across England and Scotland.

Shropshire Council is one of 111 councils to sign up to the standardised survey, that will ask members of the public exactly the same questions regardless of which council area they live in.

The survey, which is being run for the 16th year, is the largest collaboration between councils, offering the opportunity to compare results, share in best practice and identify further opportunities to work together in the future.

The 2022 survey showed that Shropshire residents were increasingly satisfied with the condition of the county’s roads, and the work carried out by Shropshire Council to repair and improve them – see Survey shows increasing satisfaction with Shropshire’s roads – Shropshire Council Newsroom

Chris Schofield Shropshire Council’s deputy Cabinet member for highways, said:

“This survey gives people across the Shropshire Council area an opportunity to say which services they think the council should prioritise, and improve. The results enable us to find out what people think about these important services, and this will provide one of several ways that the council can assess how it’s performing. We encourage anyone who receives a questionnaire to complete it.

“There are clear benefits to conducting a public survey in this way. As well as providing excellent value for money, it also enables everyone involved to identify areas of best practice and spot national, regional and local trends. This is not about producing a league table to champion one area over another, it is about understanding customer views better and working together to deliver the best outcomes for local residents.”

Residents that receive the questionnaire can complete the survey online if they prefer. A short URL link will be printed on the front of the questionnaire and they will be required to enter a code before completing it.

Further information

About the survey

• The National Highways and Transport (NHT) Network is a unique collaboration between Local Authorities across England and parts of Scotland with a common agenda – service improvement. It provides an environment in which members can measure their own performance, compare with their peers and identify areas for improvement.
• The NHT Network and the Public Satisfaction Survey are managed by performance management specialists, measure2improve, the NHT Network administrators
• The survey is being carried out on behalf of the participating Local Authorities by market research specialist, Ipsos MORI.
• Participation in the survey is voluntary. It is believed to be the first survey of its kind to bring together so many separate highway authorities from all over England and parts of Scotland to carry out their surveys in a comparable format
• The survey questionnaire is 12 pages long and covers all aspects of local highway and transport services (e.g. from the condition or roads and footways to Road Safety and Cycling). The questionnaire should be completed in around 15 minutes.
• Residents that receive the questionnaire in the post may opt to complete the questionnaire online if they prefer.