At the South Sutton, Cheam and Belmont Local Committee on 9 June some interesting and encouraging statistics were presented on our part of Sutton, drawn from the latest independent survey of the views of Sutton residents.

They showed that 83% of our residents are satisfied with how the Council runs things. More than half agreed that Sutton Council provides value for money in the services it provides. Some 83% of residents said they were satisfied with the area as a place to live.

Local residents feel fairly well informed about about the services and benefits provided by Sutton Council, with 79% agreeing that they were well informed. 75% feel informed about how their Council tax is spent and 76% believe they can influence Council-run services in their area. In each case these figures are significantly above the figures in Sutton as a whole (the comparative figures being 64%, 65%, 51%).

Local residents have significantly lower levels of worry about crime in the area, for every category of crime. Almost all feel safe walking alone in the neighbourhood by day and thre quarters feel safe walking alone in the neighbourhood after dark.

Our residents are great volunteers – over one in three regularly volunteer, compared to 19% in Sutton as a whole.