Caithness Map :: Links to Site Map Great value Unlimited Broadband from an award winning provider WED 16TH JUL 2025    6:53:09 AM BST
This site uses cookies, by continuing to use this site you accept the terms of our privacy policy
Back To Top
Caithness.Org Quick Links
Home
Construction
Leisure
Manufacturing
Misc.
Primary
Professional
Public
Retail
Tourism
Transport
Site Map
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Feed 2.0 Loading...

Leader thanks Citizens' Panel for their views

2nd November 2017

Resident's from across the Highlands have provided positive feedback to the council's latest Citizen's Panel survey. Each year the panel of just over 2300 adults are asked for their views on the performance of the council and to provide information on their attitudes to a range of issues affecting them, their families and their neighbourhoods.

With nearly a thousand responses, it provides important information, which helps councillors set priorities and assists with the current programme of Council redesign - aimed at providing better services, more efficiently.

Leader of the Council Margaret Davidson said: "I would like to thank members of the Citizens’ Panel for their participation and their views. This is extremely useful and valuable information. We want to provide the best possible services for residents, tailored to their priorities. This information helps us make sure we are responding to those priorities.

"For example, the Council continues to work hard to bring decision-making closer to communities and help support people to become more involved in decisions that affect them. This style of localism is a key priority in our Council Programme. It is a response to people, particularly the young, telling us they feel disengaged from decision-making in their own communities."

She continued, "I am delighted the panel members believe the Council meets or exceeds their general expectations, with a significant increasing thinking this compared to the previous year. The majority of respondents reported that the Council maintains local services, listens to local people and provides value for money."

The top three most important services for the public are; road and pothole repairs, winter road maintenance and refuse bin collections. Primary and secondary education was high on the list of important services with the 16 to 34-year age group.

Chairman of the Corporate Resources Committee, Councillor Alister Mackinnon, responding to the survey findings said, "All councillors recognise the challenge of reducing budgets. However, there has been excellent work which has been done to achieve the continued good performance across the Council and I wish to thank staff for the important part they play in delivering these services.

“In previous years we’ve responded to the panel feedback by making sure that repairing our roads and investing in our schools remain budget priorities. Unsurprisingly, reducing budgets and an increased pressure on services has seen a decline in satisfaction levels in some areas. It is clear that with further cuts projected for the next three years, current service provision is unaffordable. This means we need to place emphasis on redesign and involving the public in how we do things differently in the future."

The full 2017 survey report, provided by the UHI Centre for Remote and Rural Studies, can be accessed on our the performance web pages at:

https://www.highland.gov.uk/downloads/download/407/how_we_are_performingpublic_performance_reports

This provides further details on trends over time and graphics, including tables and pie charts. As this is a long report, running to 103 pages, a summary including highlights and areas for improvement is provided below. This year we also asked new questions on involving and developing communities and the full report also provides analysis of the short survey of those under 35 years of age using social media.

 

Related Businesses

 

Related Articles

Renewable energy firm ENERCON welcomed to Wick Business Park
Wick Business Park has welcomed wind energy technology company ENERCON as the first occupant of one of four new units completed last year.   ENERCON specialises in designing, producing, installing and servicing onshore wind turbines and has been operating in the Caithness area since 2013.  
3/7/2025
Bringing more empty homes back into use
Additional empty homes officers are being recruited to bring more privately owned houses back into use.   The new posts are being supported as part of a £2 million investment through the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership in 2025-26 which will see staff take a more proactive and targeted approach to tackling local housing issues.  
2/7/2025
Community-Led Local Development Fund distributes over £900k to support projects in Highland
The Highland Strategic Local Action Group (LAG) met in June 2025 and considered and agreed funding for 28 projects submitted to the Community-Led Local Development fund (CLLD), which makes up part of The Highland Council Community Regeneration Fund (CRF) programme.   CRF is an umbrella term used to cover multiple external funding programmes administered by The Highland Council.  
2/7/2025
Community benefits funding delivers educational resources to Highland schoolsThumbnail for article : Community benefits funding delivers educational resources to Highland schools
Highland Council has provided 12 ‘Talking Tub' resources for use in primary schools across the Highlands, in partnership with Union Technical who deliver community benefits as part of the Energy Efficient Scotland: Area Based Scheme programme.   Chair of Highland Council's Education Committee, Councillor John Finlayson, said: "This is a fantastic initiative being rolled out across Highland primary schools which brings innovation and inspiration to early years children.  
1/7/2025
Additional bins will help keep popular visitor spots tidy
Visitors will find it easier to dispose of their litter at several popular spots across Highland after the rollout of additional bins.  The rollout has been planned to support the tourism season as part of the Council's ongoing commitment to improve and support sustainable tourism in the area.  
27/6/2025
Accounts Commission commends Highland Council's culture of transformation
Members of the meeting of The Highland Council (26 June 2025) have considered and agreed the Accounts Commission's Best Value report, which was published in April 2025 and highlights organisational improvements across leadership, performance management and community engagement.   In April’s report, the Accounts Commission recognised and welcomed significant progress within the organisation since the 2020 Best Value Assurance Report (BVAR) and commended the embedded culture of transformation.  
27/6/2025
Thurso masterplan and community POD progress update
A new generation of community facilities is being planned for the Highlands.   At a meeting of The Highland Council (Thursday 26 June), elected members approved the work to date in progressing the Highland Investment Plan workstreams - masterplan for Thurso and agreed to nominate the current Thurso High School site as the preferred location for the new Thurso Community Point of Delivery (POD).  
27/6/2025
Highland Housing Challenge partnership makes positive strides
At a meeting of The Highland Council (Thursday 26 June 2025), Members received a progress report on the partnership approach and important successes since declaring a Highland Housing Challenge in November 2023.   Since establishing the ambitious Highland Housing Challenge, important successes included: A call for sites delivered 250 sites, with a potential 25,000 housing units which will support delivery against the target of an additional 12,000 houses over the next 10 years.  
25/6/2025
Highland Council to deliver housing energy efficiency upgrades with ECO funding
The Highland Council will deliver a transformative programme of energy efficiency upgrades across Council housing supported by a £9.2 million Energy Company Obligation (ECO) funding proposal secured by Union Technical.   The funding proposal will deliver approximately 1,000 individual energy efficiency measures to Council owned properties across the Highlands.  
18/6/2025
Look to See - a Refugee Week exhibition by young people
As part of the Highland Council's celebration of Refugee Week - 16 to 22 June - we are delighted to announce that a sharing of photographs, taken by separated young people seeking asylum living within the Highlands, is to be shown at Eden Court Arts Centre, Inverness.   Look to See, which ties in with the theme for this year’s Refugee Week - Community as a Superpower - emerges out of a collaboration between multiple agencies working alongside separated young people seeking asylum, embodying the importance of community and connection, when looking to support all young people in the Highlands.