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Aberdeen citizens asked to give their views on range of city issues

01 July 2015

Aberdeen citizens are being asked for their views on a range of city issues in the latest City Voice questionnaire.

The 35th questionnaire has just been issued to the Aberdeen's Citizens' Panel, which now numbers more than 900 people. They are asked to complete three questionnaires a year – and the results are used to shape policy, measure performance and to tell service providers what they are doing right and what they could be doing better.

The latest survey covers:
   •   New psychoactive substances (NPS), or 'legal highs' – views are being sought on how they are affecting communities, in order to inform local policing plans.
   •  Arts and culture – officials are seeking to gain an understanding of city residents' involvement in the arts scene, to feed into the process of developing a new arts and culture strategy.
   •   Home fire safety visit referrals – Fire and Rescue Scotland wants to gauge people's understanding of how they can refer people they fear are at risk for a fire safety visit.
   •   Walking and cycling – Aberdeen City Public Health Team is seeking views on walking and cycling opportunities in Aberdeen to help inform strategies to keep people active and healthy.
   •   Alcohol licensing – the Aberdeen City Alcohol and Drugs Partnership wants to find out what people think about licensing policies and over-provision of licensed premises in Aberdeen.

City Council Leader Councillor Jenny Laing said: "It is vital that the views of Aberdeen citizens are heard so that we can feed them into policy-making at Aberdeen City Council. The Citizens' Panel is one of the key ways in which we gather opinions on a range of policy issues. I would urge members to complete the latest questionnaire – and I would also encourage even more people to get involved in the panel by following the simple sign-up process on our website."

City Voice is led by Community Planning Aberdeen, which brings together Aberdeen City Council, Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, NHS Grampian, Aberdeen Council of Voluntary Organisations, the University of Aberdeen, Robert Gordon University and North East Scotland College.

The Citizens' Panel is always looking for new members. Anyone interested can contact the City Voice Co-ordinator at cityvoice@aberdeencity.gov.uk, tel: 01224 522935. More information and access to the latest questionnaire is available at http://communityplanningaberdeen.org.uk/cityvoice/. The questionnaire should be completed by Monday 20 July.