Mobile Homes Act 1983 - pitch fee uprating: consultation analysis

7) Feedback on the Consultation Process

158 respondents gave feedback about their views of the consultation process which is summarised in Table 5.

The majority of respondents were satisfied with the consultation. Some were slightly or very dissatisfied. Site operators were more likely to be dissatisfied than residents.

Residents who gave a positive response said that they had found the consultation relatively simple. For example, these residents commented on the clarity and usability of the questionnaire:

“As official forms and questionnaires go this one is clear and comparatively simple.” Mobile Home Resident

“I felt the questions were broad but specific enough to get my point of view across.” Mobile Home Resident

On the other hand, some respondents thought the consultation was complicated or confusing, for example these two residents noted:

“Questions are far too similar and are certainly not plain English in terms of peoples experience in these matters.” Mobile Home Resident

“Didn’t understand some of the questions so left them blank.” Mobile Home Resident

When reading the analysis, it is important to bear in mind that some potential respondents might have been deterred from responding because of the technical nature of the consultation. In addition, a few residents commented that there may not be a wide awareness of the consultation preventing people from replying.

Paper surveys and response by post was available but some comments suggested that people may not be able to access online surveys and that paper surveys should be available. This may indicate that there was not a wide awareness of the alternative option for responding.

Some residents welcomed the opportunity to express their views as a sign of progress in an area where they want to see action. These comments from residents show that a consultation on this topic is welcomed:

“It is heartening to have the opportunity to comment and give my opinion on a matter which affects me directly and which has an impact on my quality of living.” Mobile Home Resident

“Very happy that at long last something is being done to help us out.” Mobile Home Resident

“This issue has been overdue for consultation and will give some considerable comfort to residents.” Mobile Home Resident

A few responses would have preferred the consultation to cover more policy issues, including other aspects of the Mobile Homes Act 1983 or Site Licencing.

As noted in the response analysis, Question 4 on Gypsy/Traveller sites did not generate many responses that were directly relevant to the question. This may be in part because very few Local Authorities responded. Although respondents were not asked to declare their ethnicity, we did not identify any response that commented from the perspective of a Gypsy/Traveller resident. As set out in Section 3, views of Gypsy/Travellers were sought outside the written consultation process.

Respondents were also asked to provide feedback about their views of using the Citizen Space platform to respond to this consultation. Table 6 gives a breakdown of responses.

In many cases, comments did not distinguish between the survey and the platform and were therefore similar to those in the question above. Where comments related directly to the experience of Citizen Space, they were positive, for example this respondent commented that it was user friendly:

‘“This is an important matter and the online questionnaire was user friendly and ease to use and record our views.” Residents’ Association