Each year, people living across Nottingham’s 20 wards are consulted on the city council’s progress towards continued improvement as part of what the authority is calling its ‘Future Council Conversation’.
More conversations are being held across the city with residents after concerns were raised over poor consultation on critical decisions, such as the yearly budget, so that more people feel they are being listened to.
Another survey is taking place this year.
At a meeting to discuss the council’s improvements on Wednesday (29 July), Bulwell councillor Michael Savage (Lab) said: “In relation to the Future Council Conversation programme, have there been any recurring themes that have come up so far that may have some impact on strategic planning going forward?”
James Rhodes, assistant chief executive of the council, said: “There are. From memory, what tends to come up is the importance of neighbourhoods. Pavements are always a popular one, as is cleanliness.”
Cllr Neghat Khan (Lab), the leader of the council, admitted more needs to be done regarding safety and cleansing across neighbourhoods.
In 2023, when the council declared itself effectively bankrupt amid serious financial problems, street sweeping was cut to just four times a year.
Previously, it was done once every 10 days.
The number of frontline Community Protection Officers (CPOs) was also reduced from 100 full-time posts to 76 in 2020 as part of cost-cutting measures, before being brought down even further to just 36.
However, the council has since managed to reduce its debt significantly and now has a much-improved financial outlook. As such, there has been a multi-million-pound reinvestment in street cleansing and the prevention of anti-social behaviour.
“We’ve had ours in Dales, and people were talking about cleansing and safety,” Cllr Khan told councillors.
“We know we need to do a lot more in that area. Some of that isn’t just for the council to do; it is about that partnership approach. How do we work with the police and others to make sure people don’t feel that feeling clean and safe is asking for too much?
“It is making sure it is business as usual and that this is standard across the whole city.”
Cllr Maria Joannou (Lab) said the council has not been very good at conducting resident surveys and typically fails to ask what people believe their community needs.
“We can’t provide services for people based on what we think they need; we obviously have to consult with people,” she added.
“We are not very good at that. We need to get better at having conversations with people, and we are not. We are still nowhere near that, really.”
Cllr Khan said: “Fair point. I think what we’ve done as a council is move to look at outcomes and impact, and what actually makes a difference, rather than trying to do everything.”
By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
