Residents wanting to have their say about Derbyshire County Council's services and how the authority should spend its budget have less than two weeks remaining to complete a survey.

The wide-ranging Your Council Your Voice residents’ survey was launched at the beginning of October and runs until Sunday 13 November.

All Derbyshire residents are being encouraged to take part in Your Council Your Voice which they can complete online at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/yourvoice2022 

More than 2,400 residents have already taken the survey, which is an opportunity for people to tell the council what they think about the services they use, how satisfied they are with them and which ones they think are most important and why.

People have the choice of completing the main questionnaire or a shorter version which contains key questions relating to the county council, budget priorities and living in Derbyshire.

Derbyshire County Council Leader Councillor Barry Lewis launched the 2022 survey, encouraging people to take part and give their views which will be used to shape how the council is run and spends its budget in the next financial year.

Councillor Lewis said: “We know there are tough times ahead as we face the rising cost of living which is already being felt in households across the country and will impact on the council’s budget and services too.

“However, we will continue to do all we can to offer high quality services to benefit those who need them most, while remaining ambitious for our county and its residents.

“All that we are doing and planning will be against a backdrop of increases in prices across the board.

“This makes it more important than ever that we hear from our residents via our annual survey, as their views will help us to shape the council, our services and how we manage and spend the budget for the year ahead.”

The survey itself is divided into clear sections making it straightforward to complete, with one of the main sections asking questions about the council’s budget. People have the opportunity to give their views on which services should be prioritised when it comes to spending for 2023-24 and which areas they think should not. 

People are asked to list their top and bottom three priorities from a list of council services, with an opportunity to give additional information about why they have ranked services as high or low priority

Those taking part have the opportunity to enter a prize draw with one person winning £100 of shopping vouchers. Papers copies are available on request by ringing Call Derbyshire on 01629 533190.

The council’s Cabinet will consider the survey responses relating to the budget, along with budget proposals, at a meeting in early 2023, and it will then be considered at a meeting of the Full Council in February.

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