Cumbria County Council has warmly welcomed a major report which recommends ways that all residents in Cumbria can feel engaged in the democratic process.
The report by the Cumbria Local Democracy Commission (CLDC) has been presented to Cabinet, where its key proposals will be considered over the forthcoming months.
The independently-produced document follows eight months of research and consultation chaired by leading academic Professor Phil Thomas. It includes the results of a comprehensive telephone survey, where over 600 people across the six districts of Cumbria were asked their opinion on local services and whether they felt engaged in Cumbria's political process.
92% of those surveyed said public services met their needs at a level that was either satisfactory or above - with nurseries, schools and libraries proving particularly popular. But 88% said they felt they were not involved in local decision-making and in matters affecting local community life.
CLDC has made a series of recommendations to be considered by the council, including developing an e-petition system where members of the public can call for change on the council's website, webcasting council meetings and raising awareness of the council's services with clear branding.
It also recommends replacing the council's local committee structure with a system based on area boards. Presently there are 6 local committees, CLDC suggests these could be reduced to either 3 or 4 area boards, while introducing new accountability systems to allow the area boards to assess the use of resources in their local area.
"There's a lot of food for thought for the council in this report. It's always good to see how we're working through the eyes of an outsider, " said Councillor Roger Bingham, cabinet member responsible for CLDC's findings.
"Democracy in Cumbria is and always has been a key area - we already have higher voter turnouts in elections than the national average. But any attempt to raise awareness about what the council does and to make sure the public voice is being heard can only be a good thing.
"We want to represent all Cumbrians so that we can provide our fellow citizens with the services and support which they require and for which we all pay," said Councillor Bingham.