Memorandum by the Oxfordshire Consultation
Officer Forum (LGC 06)
SCHOOLS OMNIBUS—JOINT PROJECT BY OXFORD
CITY COUNCIL, WEST OXFORDSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL AND SOUTH OXFORDSHIRE
DISTRICT COUNCIL
BACKGROUND
1. In Autumn 2004, Oxford City Council,
South Oxfordshire District Council and West Oxfordshire District
Council jointly commissioned MORI to pilot some quantitative consultation
with school attendees in the three areas. MORI visited 32 schools
and obtained 471 completed questionnaires. The methodology of
this research involved self completion surveys that were introduced
by a MORI interviewer during a class room period, this interviewer
was available during the entire period where the survey was being
completed in order to clarify any issues or answer any questions.
2. The survey asked respondents for their
views on their local area; crime and safety; leisure time and
out-of-school activities; sports and physical activity; environment;
information, advice and support and the local Council. MORI weighted
the data and provided topline report of results and a data report
with several crossbreaks which allowed the local authorities to
compare results across different demographic groups. The data
was analysed and reported on by Consultation Officers in the local
authorities and a joint report has been produced.
General effectiveness of consultation and its
impact on local authority decision-making and possible ways to
improve it
3. Local authorities often struggle to conduct
quantitative consultation with young people as this hard-to-reach
group often cannot be captured by postal surveys. The schools
omnibus was a cost effective way of consulting with a large number
of young people as one interviewer consulted with an entire class
at a time, saving resources compared to face to face interviews.
We found that this was an excellent way of communicating with
a large, representative group of young people.
4. There were also a range of benefits to
be gained by the joint commission of the work. The three local
authorities that took part in the project were able to pool resources
which provided a large sample base over the three areas; this
allowed the authorities to benchmark their results against the
two other authorities. Furthermore, by reporting on all three
areas, this provided a sample base of respondents that would allow
for cross tabulations. This was particularly effective when comparing
the results of male respondents and female respondents which picked
up some interesting gender patterns. It was also of use when comparing
response by different age groups and by respondents who did and
did not feel well informed by their local Council.
5. The survey contained 45 questions and
this allowed the three authorities to consult on a range of different
issues. These issues such as sports and leisure and crime and
safety informed the production of several strategies. Furthermore,
it allowed the authorities to compare their results which highlighted
where there were particular issues for individual authorities
or where issues may be county-wide.
6. A further, and unexpected benefit, was
the opportunity that this provided for the local authorities to
open communication with schools. As a thank you for allowing MORI
to conduct the consultation, schools will be provided with the
results of the consultation which will effectively illustrate
the benefits of consultation to them. Further to this, South Oxfordshire
District Council has been conducting qualitative consultation
with local schools and has found that the young people they meet
have expressed additional interest in local issues and local democracy
as a result of taking part in the omnibus consultation. The survey
highlighted ways that young people would like to communicate with
the Council in the future and have shown that young people would
like to know more about their local Council. This information
will be used to build relationships with young people and to engage
them in local democracy.
7. The consultation could have been further
improved by using the technique to engage with young people that
had been excluded from the education system which would engage
with further hard to reach groups. This was not possible within
the resources and time given to the consultation.
How public consultation fits into the local authority
decision making processes
8. The schools omnibus survey provided the
local authorities that took part with robust data regarding the
attitudes of young people in the area. This consultation, therefore,
provided the authorities with invaluable insight into the needs
of young people in the area where little to no data had previously
been gathered. This was of additional value in a two tier system
of local government where the Councils that took part do not have
regular access to consult with young people through the education
system or youth service.
9. The information gained allowed South
Oxfordshire District Council to ascertain themes for their Youth
Strategy which is currently being written. Further to this, the
results of the survey have also helped to inform the decisions
of partnership bodies. The results of questions on crime and safety
were used by the South Oxfordshire Community Safety Partnership
to write their strategy for 2005-08. Furthermore, South Oxfordshire's
Local Strategic Partnership used the results of the survey to
inform the progress of their Community Strategy.
10. The information gained was used by West
Oxfordshire District Council to help to develop their Waste Strategy,
especially in the marketing of young people in recycling and litter
reduction. As with South Oxfordshire District Council the information
acquired in the survey was used in partnership work by West Oxfordshire
District Council. The results were fed into their Local Strategic
Partnership via the Environment and Young People's theme groups.
In addition to this, the results on crime and safety have informed
the West Oxfordshire Community Safety Partnership Strategy 2005-08.
Whether public consultation by local authorities
is part of a continuing process of communication, information
dissemination and participation
11. One of the aims of the schools omnibus
was to create a way of communicating with young people across
the three areas. The survey quizzed respondents on how they currently
find out about things in their local area; it also asked them
how they would prefer to do so in the future. Moreover, the survey
questioned their level of knowledge about their local Council
and whether they would like more information from, and more chances
to engage with, their local Council. The survey gave clear indications
that more young people would like to know more about the work
their local Council does and some would like to be involved in.
The results of these surveys will be used to help design communication
and engagement with young people in the future and will help to
create an ongoing process of communication, information dissemination
and participation.
The extent to which consultation exercises reach
an audience beyond those who typically participate
12. South and West Oxfordshire cover wide
and rural areas which pose difficulties in consulting with all
residents. This difficulty is further pronounced when trying to
consult with young people, a typically hard to reach group. Further
to this, all three Councils are part of a two tier system of local
government which limits access to consult with young people as
the authorities do not have direct responsibility for a youth
or education service.
13. The schools omnibus allowed the authorities
to break through these barriers to access and was very successful
at engaging children from different ages and social groups. The
survey returned quantitative data which would have otherwise been
extremely difficult to attain. Overall, it was felt that the project
was an excellent method to gather robust data from young people
in the area.
RECOMMENDATIONS
14. Oxford City Council, South Oxfordshire
District Council and West Oxfordshire Council recommend that the
schools omnibus project should be held as an example of best practice
for youth consultation.
15. That this methodology should be considered
for a national survey which would allow local authorities to compare
results with all areas in a similar way to the Best Value Performance
Indicator Surveys that are conducted every three years.
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