Richmond upon Thames in vanguard as London councils top satisfaction league

8.00.19pm GMT Fri 16th Feb 2007

It's official - London residents are more satisfied with their council's services than those living elsewhere in the country and residents in Richmond upon Thames are among the most satisfied of them all.

The Best Value Performance Indicator (BVPI) scores 2006-7, which record resident satisfaction for a range of council services, have revealed that London councils in general, and Richmond in particular, have a higher satisfaction rating than the national average. The national average satisfaction rating stands at 51% while the average figure for London is 54%. Richmond upon Thames however stands at 62%, an impressive seven points up on three years ago.

Commenting on the results Cllr Serge Lourie, Leader of Richmond Council, said:

"I am delighted that our services are so highly rated by residents. We always strive to provide the best quality services we can and to provide value for money at the same time. In our borough, where we get such a raw deal from the government, this is a real challenge. Nevertheless we are continually striving for improvement - it is very encouraging to have the evidence that we are getting it. I am particularly happy to see us score so highly on satisfaction for waste collection, street cleanliness and recycling scores which are 76%, 74% and 67% respectively. I am also delighted to see satisfaction with our parks is the best in the country at 93% while 78% of people agree that the Council is making the local area a better place to live. I should like to thank all our staff but our front line staff in particular for all their hard work as this is what we are being judged on."