Budget Consultation 2021

An online questionnaire was developed and launched week beginning 21 September 2021 that ran for six weeks, ending on 3 November 2021.

To ensure as many residents as possible had a chance to complete the survey, it was promoted through the following communication channels:

• Press release announcing start of consultation and focus on impact of budget plans
• Social media promotion including boosted posts and adverts
• News story on website and promoted on homepage banner and banner that runs across the whole site as well as your city your say page
• Inclusions in news bulletins – all subscriber coronavirus bulletin, Your City Your Say, Family Life, Flag It Up, Business Bulletin
• Inclusion in staff bulletins and all-staff emails
• Newsletter copy and social post/links shared with partner organisations
• Six face-to-face sessions promoting the survey on the high street
• Online business briefing session
• PCC offline consultation database (outbound telephone calls through the City Helpdesk)

The purpose of this was to provide a comprehensive summary of the 2021 Budget consultation. The consultation gave residents and businesses in Portsmouth the opportunity to provide their views on how the council should prioritise spending, as well as where they think money should be saved.

The consultation focused on the following specific research objectives:

• To ascertain if there is support for changes to council tax
• To understand where respondents think the council’s revenue budget and capital budget should be directed
• To understand which priorities residents think are most important to help shape the future of the city in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic

The consultation survey attracted 2,331 responses.

Assuming a “total population” of 175,336 (the latest mid-year estimate from the Office for National Statistics for people aged 16-90+ in Portsmouth) this volume of responses ensures a 95% confidence level with a margin of error of 2.02%.