Item 14 Appendix 4 WDC Citizens Panel Spring 2025
West Dunbartonshire Council · 29 October 2025
Back to West Dunbartonshire Council — 29 October 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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1 West Dunbartonshire Citizens Panel Spring 2025 Survey Results West Dunbartonshire Citizens Panel provides a way for residents to give their views on the Council and its services. This document presents the key findings from the online Spring 2025 survey. The responses of our members inform service development and improvements to ensure we meet the needs of our residents now and in the future. This year’s survey was themed on the four priority areas of the Council’s 2022-2027 Strategic Plan, to help us understand any changes over time, and people’s priorities. 1. Our Communities 2. Our Environment 3. Our Economy 4. Our Council 207 responses were received, 33% less than the 2024 survey. Self-selection bias can occur when survey respondents decide for themselves whether they participate. Self-selection can lead to biased data, as mix of respondents who choose to participate may not well represent the entire target population. We have seen a downturn in representation from younger age groups from the previous year particularly amongst the 16-44 age group and as a result the respondent profile in this survey was underrepresented by younger age groups. Homeowners are overrepresented and social rented and private rented tenants are under-represented. There was good geographical representation from across our areas. The respondent’s breakdown shows, 8% from G60, 42% from G81, 32% from G82, 18% from G83 and <1% from the G13 area. We have highlighted any significant differences from different groups in responses. Summary of findings • 76% of respondents rated West Dunbartonshire as a good place to live • 56% of respondents felt they had no barriers to digital inclusion • 28% of respondents said they had some concerns about their finances, with 5% say they had serious concerns We look at the results in more detail below. Appendix 4
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2 1. Our Communities Living in West Dunbartonshire 76% of people rated their local neighbourhood as a very good/ good place to live. 33 126 37 11 Very good Good Poor Very poor 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 How would you rate your local area as a place to live? 47% of people felt their local area had stayed about the same compared with the previous year, 6% felt it had improved whilst 47% felt it had got worse. Improvements to social housing, town centre regeneration, particularly in Alexandria, and environmental improvements had improved the overall look of the area. Poor road conditions, anti-social behaviour and environmental maintenance of public areas were cited as reasons for a perceived deterioration in the local areas as a place to live. 2 10 97 77 21 Got much better Got a bit better Stayed about the same Got a bit worse Got a lot worse 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 How has your local area changed over the last year? Digital inclusion
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3 56% noted no barriers to digital communications.44% noted some barriers to using digital communications, the three most common areas noted were broadband affordability, device affordability and online safety, 96% of respondents were aware of sources of digital support in West Dunbartonshire Council through libraries and the Community Learning and Development team. 3 116 7 29 23 42 35 44 Other No concerns Not accessible Online safety Low digital skills Poor reception Cost of device Cost of Broadband 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 Barriers to using digital technology Health and Wellbeing 71% of people reported they felt their physical health was very good/good. 4738 104109 4440 8 18 42 Very good Good Poor Very poor Prefer not to say 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Health and Wellbeing Mental health Physical health 73% of people reported they felt their mental health was very good/good. Male and females reported similar levels of good/very good mental health. Overall, women reported better physical health than men. Disabled people reported worse physical and mental health than non-disabled people. Home owners reported
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4 better physical and mental health than renters. How we are responding: Digital support: We offer a wide variety of free computer related courses to help users get online and become digitally included. This includes computers for the absolute beginner; smart phones and tablets; word processing; next steps in computing and digital drop-in sessions. All details can be found here: Computer Courses | West Dunbartonshire Council (west-dunbarton.gov.uk) Community safety: We have invested in CCTV upgrades throughout West Dunbartonshire, with all upgrades expected to be completed by Autumn 2025. Regeneration: We are investing to improve housing in West Dunbartonshire including new building and sustainability projects. In 24/25 we completed the Clydebank East housing development, comprising of 88 houses net zero properties. Properties include a mixture of flats, bungalows and houses; nine of the properties are fully wheelchair accessible. 2. Our Environment In common with earlier surveys carried out, there was strong support for actions on climate change and adaptation. There was considerable concern about flooding, with a commonality of actions suggested around improved drainage, protecting greenspaces, tree planting and rewilding. 191 2 135 10 5 175 10 165 8 1 138 12 6 45 49 39 84 32 17 103 37 18 Feeling safe in the community Good quality housing Good quality pavements Good quality roads Access to Green spaces Access to Arts & Culture Access to leisure facilities Access to public transport 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 Quality of life in the built environment Very mportant Important Somewhat important Not important 80% of people stated good quality roads were very important to them. Other areas that were noted as very important include feeling safe in the community (92%) and access to green spaces (99%) and good quality pavements (85%).
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5 77% of people felt improved roads and pavements would support use of a wider range of more environmentally sustainable transport, more regular and cheaper public transport, more cycling routes and parking enforcement were also noted. 160 99 82 76 40 36 35 33 29 13 12 8 Improved roads & pavements More regular public transport Cheaper public transport Parking enforcement Accessible Public Transport More cycling routes Electric charging points Wheelchair & scooter accessiblilty Increased disabled parking bays Bike/ebike hire Bike storage Car share/club 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 Sustainability Improvements How we are responding: Roads: We are working to improve our approach to road repairs, our performance over 2024/25 shows that 99% of road defects were repaired with 4 hours of being reported, 93% of non-serious road defects were repaired within 7 days of reporting, 98% of traffic light repairs were carried out within 48 hours of reporting and 98% of street light repairs were carried out within 7 days of reporting. Waste: We have considerably reduced the amount of waste sent to landfill and improved our household waste recycling rate to 54.5% in 2024/25. Climate: We continue to embed climate change in the primary & secondary curriculum, strengthen the Green Flag scheme in schools and support pupils to make climate- friendly choices
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6 3. Our Economy 41 108 47 11 Very secure financially Fairly secure financially Fairly concerned financially Very concerned financially 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Financial security 72% of people reported no issues with their finances. Those aged 35-44 years were the most likely to have some level of concern about their finances with the 75+ age group having the least concern. 73% of social rented tenants compared to only 17% of homeowners said they had concerns about their finances. 26% said reduced transport costs, and 11% said more access to public transport would help finances. 10% said more childcare and 8% said free school meals would be beneficial. More flexibility from employers for home working (14%) and access to training were noted by 22% of respondents. 10% 12% 14% 26% 11% 8% 10% 7% 7% 16% Digital Skills training Training & Development Home working Reduced transport costs Accessible public transport Free school meals Free child care provision Cease zero hours contract More work hours Living wage salary 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% Financial Security Improvements 46% of agreed it was easy to travel out with WD for work, 51% agreed it was easy to travel within the area for work. 10% stated WD felt like a successful place, 30% of people answered neutral to this question and to a most others as noted below.
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7 2 17 57 69 43 4 19 61 55 29 14 65 40 29 4 29 75 21 14 17 60 33 28 22 60 39 44 14 51 40 23 13 16 54 40 19 8 WD feels like a successful place WD is a good business location Range of job opportunities Help to find a job in WD Easy to find a job in WD It is easy to work at home in WD Ease of travel to work out with WD Ease of travel to work within WD 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 Work and Employment Strongly agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly disagree 84% of people shop for groceries and general household items within the West Dunbartonshire area, similarly the majority of people 73%, shop local for trades such as plumbers. Overwhelmingly, all other purchases, including entertainment, are done out with the West Dunbartonshire area. 69 119 2 16 35 102 59 10 34 140 11 21 42 112 50 2 170 29 71 151 19 16 21 Entertainment Domestic appliances Large purchases (cars, kitchens) Clothing Groceries & household items Trade services 0 50 100 150 200 250 Shopping behaviours In WD Outside WD Online N/A How we are responding: Regeneration: We have ongoing regeneration work in town centres, with more planned, and detailed on our website. Our Economic Development Strategy for 2020-2027 details our overall approach to sustainable and inclusive growth. We are progressing the transformation of the former Exxon site in Bowling to help boost the local economy and enhance our environment.
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8 4. Our Council Satisfaction with Council Services Satisfaction with Council is services is mixed. Leisure and Cultural Services continue to receive high levels of satisfaction with residents as does Parks and Open Spaces demonstrating the importance of recreational activities in the area. As with the Telephone Survey, respondents were less positive about Waste Services, Grounds Maintenance and Roads Maintenance. Comments as to why dissatisfaction is high in these areas suggests potholes, charges for garden waste and grass cutting. It is important to note that Citizens Panel respondents are self- selecting, whilst those to the Telephone Survey are selected at random. 20% 62% 13% 5% 38% 42% 12% 8% 20% 53% 18% 9% 6% 61% 17% 16% 10% 44% 26% 20% 6% 42% 25% 28% 2% 14% 29% 55% Leisure Centres Libraries Parks and Open Spaces Museums & Galleries Waste Services Grounds Maintenance Roads Maintenance 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Satisfaction with Council Services Very satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied Contacting the Council 12% 40% 17% 31% 13% 56% 17% 13% 8% 48% 22% 22% 16% 48% 21% 14% At a Council main office Through the Council’s website Telephoning a specific Council department Citizens Contact Centre 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Satisfaction with contacting the Council Series1 Series2 Series3 Series4
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9 Perception of the Council As with previous surveys including the 2024 Citizens Panel, respondents were less positive across all areas with common questions, than telephone survey respondents. It is important to note that Citizens Panel respondents are self- selecting, whilst those to the Telephone Survey are selected at random. 44% 32% 22% 38% 37% 24% 30% 41% 28% 24% 38% 34% 25% 45% 27% 23% 34% 42% WDC is good at letting local people know how well it is performing WDC is good at keeping people informed of important information WDC communicates well with its residents WDC does the best it can with the money available I would speak highly of WDC WDC is good at listening to local people's views before it takes decisions 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Perception of the Council Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree People felt there was a lot of wastage in Council spend and monies spent on the wrong things and not seeing value for Council tax rises. There was a sense of a general decline in the appearance of the area. In terms of communication, people felt there was not enough notice of road closures, all communiction was online, lack of consulatiton on big decions that affected the community such as closure of facilities that were not supported by the community and a sense that decisions were a foregone conclusion. 54% of people liked to receive information about the Council from the Council website, closely followed by the Council Facebook page 43%. Text alerts and other social media channels were also noted as key areas where residents look for council information. In addition, 74% of respondents noted Facebook as the most commonly used social media channel, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) were the second and third most widely used platforms with 29% and 22% of users respectively. 112 89 75 50 18 15 6 Council website Facebook Text_alerts Other Instagram x (twitter) Google Classroom 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 Preferred channel of communication
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10 Satisfaction with the Councils website was very good and the most common place people wanted to find out about council Information. 12% 65% 15% 8% 17% 56% 14% 12% 13% 64% 14% 8% 16% 59% 15% 10% Satisfaction with the Council's website overall Satisaction with the Council's website in relation to completing transactions Satisaction with ease of using the Council's website Satisfaction with the Council's website to find information 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Satisfaction with Council website Very satisfied Satisfied Dissatisfied Very dissatisfied How we are responding: The Council continues to run a wide range of consultations where you can give us your views. We will take account of how you have said you get information when letting you know about these. How to get involved We want the Citizens’ Panel to have as wide a mix of members as possible and are always looking for new people to join. The Panel is open to anyone aged 16+ who lives in West Dunbartonshire. If you have any family, friends or neighbours who might be interested in taking part, they can contact us at engagement@west-dunbarton.gov.uk for more information, or sign up directly. Your information All the information you provide as a Panel member is completely confidential and will be used only for Citizens’ Panel purposes. End of document