Refuse and recycling top public priority for council spending, says UNISON

The service people would most like councils to spend money on is rubbish collection and recycling, according to a UNISON/ComRes poll published today (Thursday). Nearly two in five (39%) say it would be their number one choice if the government were to give their local authority extra cash, followed by pavements (32%) and homecare (30%). Parks (28%) and public toilets (26%) also made it into the top five. Women are more likely than men to want councils to spend extra money on homecare (34% compared to 27%), and youth centres (25% compared to 20%). Older adults aged 55 and above are more likely than 18 to 34-year-olds to want additional cash spent on pavements (40% v 21%), homecare (43% v 19%) and public toilets (33% v 18%). In contrast, younger people are more likely than the over55s to want any additional funding to go on parks (29% v 19%) and leisure facilities (26% v 17%). Only a quarter (25%) of 18 to 34-year-olds know their local authority can help if they buy an unsafe item compared with more than half (51%) of respondents aged 55 and above. Just under two in five (38%) people overall know to contact trading standards. The research has been published to coincide with UNISON’s first Local Service Champions Day, an event to raise awareness oftheimportant contribution local government workers make to their communities. The findings highlight how public awareness levels of council services is mixed. More than two thirds of adults are aware council staff deal with noise com...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: Article Local Service Champions Day public services Source Type: news