Consultation Hub

• We asked respondents whether the Council should apply the 3% maximum increase in Council Tax;
• We told respondents that a number of local schools – Avonbridge Primary, Bothkennar Primary, Drumbowie Primary and Limerigg Primary – are less than 50% full. We asked respondents whether these schools should be merged with other local schools to reduce money spent on school buildings;
• We asked respondents if they would be prepared to pay new or increased charges to maintain and protect music tuition. We also asked whether we should reduce or stop providing music tuition;
• We asked respondents if they would be prepared to pay new or increased charges to maintain and protect pest control. We also asked whether we should reduce or stop providing pest control;
• We asked respondents if they would be prepared to pay new or increased charges to maintain and protect special uplifts. We also asked whether we should reduce or stop providing special uplifts;
• We told respondents that the Council subsidises less popular bus services that are not commercially viable. We asked respondents whether this funding should be reduced or removed;
• We asked respondents if they would be prepared to pay new or increased charges to maintain and protect the burial and cremations service;
• We asked respondents if they would be prepared to pay new or increased charges to maintain and protect garden waste collections. We also asked whether we should reduce or stop providing garden waste collections. 

• 42% of respondents thought Council Tax should be increased by the maximum 3%; 27% thought it should be increased by less than 3%; and 31% thought there should be no increase at all;
• 74% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that schools should be merged;
• 37% respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they would be prepared to pay new or increased charges to maintain and protect the provision of music tuition. 46% said no changes should be made to music tuition.;
• 35% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they would be prepared to pay new or increased charges to maintain and protect pest control. 46% said no changes should be made to pest control and 39% said it should be reduced;
• 36% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they would be prepared to pay new or increased charges to maintain and protect special uplifts. 47% said no changes should be made to special uplifts and 40% said the service should be reduced;
• 50% of respondents wanted this funding to be protected; 33% thought it should be reduced and just 12% thought funding should be removed completely;
• 40% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they would be prepared to pay new or increased charges to maintain and protect burials and cremations;
• 35% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that they would be prepared to pay new or increased charges to maintain and protect garden waste collections. 54% said no changes should be made to garden waste collections and 38% said the service should be reduced.

• For 2019/20, we will raise Council Tax will by 3%.
• We will review schools with less than 10 catchment pupils on school roll;
• There will be a reduction in staffing and the number of instrument tuition choices available;
• We still stop providing pest control services. We will direct service users to use private companies;
• We will end the current service arrangement of one free uplift. Service reverts to chargeable service for all uplifts based on fees and charges policy;
• We will reduce the expenditure on subsidised bus services in 2019/20. The savings would be delivered by a reduction of £352,000 on local bus service contracts, including those supplying Local School Bus Services to Children's Services, and would involve reducing service frequencies and/or days of operation. This might result in withdrawal of all bus subsidies;
• As part of the Services for the Bereaved project, burial fees have been increased by around 12-13% to align Falkirk to the Scottish average and an inflationary increase of 3% applied to cremation charges;
• Brown bin collections will reverts back to original collection frequency of 4 weekly and on demand in the winter months.

We asked how you want to receive news and information from the Council and how you want to have your say in Council decision making. 

• 25% of respondents have taken part in Council community enaggement. 
• 87% said that their preferred method of community engagement is through online questionnaires. 
• 54% said they want to be involved in the co-design of Council services.
• 47% said  that they do not know how to get involved in community engagement activities.
• 42% said that they believe community engagement has no impact on decisions made at the Council. 

• We used your contributions to develop our Strategy for Community Engagement 2019-2024.
• We are relaunching our People's Panel. The People’s Panel is made up of local people who have volunteered to respond to a range of online questionnaires throughout the year. The questionnaires provide us with feedback on Council services, as well as information about the needs of local communities and other issues. This information helps us improve our services and make sure we are meeting the needs of local communities.
• We will provide more opportunities for communities to collaborate with us to design Council services.
• We will promote opportunities to have your say using the digital channels of communication you told us you prefer:
  • Falkirk Council Website;
  • Email;
  • Facebook;
  • Twitter
• We will publish the results and outcomes of community enagement online at https://say.falkirk.gov.uk.
• We will involve communities in making decisions on how local money is allocated and spent. At least 1% of our budget will be spent by communities using Participatory Budgeting. 

We asked young people if and how they want to get involved in Council decision making. 

• 82% of young people agree or strongly agree that they would like to be involved in making decisions that affect them and their local area;
• They have a particular interest in influencing Schools and Education, Jobs, Careers and Training and Mental Health. They are least interested in influencing Bins, Rubbish and Recycling and Community Safety;
• 53% of young people agree or strongly agree they can influence decisions affecting their local area;
• 37% of young people agree or strongly agree that their participation in youth engagement activities would have influence over decisions made by the Council;
• 15% of young people have been involved in Council youth engagement activities;
• 30% of young people are interested in joining the Council’s Citizen Panel.
• 28% of young people are interested in joining a youth council;
• 70% of young people said their preferred method of youth engagement is online surveys. Their least preferred method is youth groups;
• 29% of young people know how to get involved in Council youth engagement activities;
• The biggest barriers to involvement are: not knowing how to get involved; not feeling confident enough to get involved; not having enough spare time; and not feeling knowledgeable enough to get involved;
• Young people would prefer to receive information about changes and developments in the Falkirk Council area through: school and college; email; Facebook; and Twitter.

• We have opened our “People’s Panel” to young people. The People’s Panel is based on a simple idea. The more people who have their say in the decisions made by the Council, the better those decisions will be. The Panel is made up of local people, of all ages, who have volunteered to complete regular online questionnaires about Council services and the local issues that affect them and their area, for example: schools and education, community safety, and leisure facilities. We use the results of these questionnaires to improve our services and to make sure we are providing the right services, at the right time, in the right location. The Panel will soon be open to all young people living in the Falkirk Council area. While people of all ages are welcome to join, it is best suited to those aged 11 and up. All you need is your email address and a readiness to have your say.
• We will promote opportunities for you to have your say using the digital channels of communication you told us you prefer:
  • Email;
  • Facebook;
  • Twitter
• We will publish the results of questionnaires and other engagement activities and events online at https://say.falkirk.gov.uk.