What drives satisfaction with local government?

Ratings of local government fluctuate over time, with perceptions of the institution consistently less well regarded than individual service areas. Latest findings show signs of a potential recovery after notable declines in ratings since the late 1990s.

When asked to identify reasons for satisfaction/ dissatisfaction with their local authority, residents typically find it difficult to pinpoint specific reasons, highlighting the complex set of issues which underpin a council's reputation.

If an authority is perceived to provide generally good quality services and good value for money, then it is highly likely to also achieve strong satisfaction ratings. Indeed, perceptions on these attributes are consistently shown to be the strongest drivers of overall satisfaction across different studies and across key sub-groups within the population.

This report highlights some key areas where further collection of data would be helpful in providing evidence to explore various hypotheses around the drivers of satisfaction:

* residents knowledge of (comparative) council tax levels/rises;

* the impact of local media coverage;

* the link between the views of staff and those of local residents;

* the link with perceptions of national government (perhaps factoring in dimensions such as voting intention).