Frequently Asked Questions
What is Havant's
Citizens' Panel?
Why is it important that
Havant has a Citizens’ Panel?
How long has the Panel
been running and what questions have been asked?
How are people chosen to go on
the Panel?
Can I become a member of the
Citizens' Panel?
Are there any
restrictions on becoming a member?
How long are people members
of Havant's Citizens' Panel?
What is the information
used for? How can I find out if the Panel has made a
difference?
Does the Citizen's
Panel reflect the views of all the different types of people living
in Havant?
What is Havant’s Citizens’
Panel?
The Panel has around 1,500 members across Havant who have said
that they are willing to give their views on local issues. Each
Panel member has agreed to fill in at least three questionnaires a
year. As well as filling in questionnaires, Panel members are
sometimes invited to take part in other activities, like focus
groups or special one-off consultations.
Why is it important that
Havant has a Citizens’ Panel?
Havant Borough Council provides services for all residents in
the local community and from time to time needs to find out if
these services are being well-run, are meeting the needs of local
residents or can be improved. The Citizens’ Panel is a cost
effective and efficient way for us to find out what the people of
Havant think.
How long has the
Panel been running and what questions have been asked?
Havant’s Citizens’ Panel has been running since 1999. In the
past, Panel members have answered questions on the environment,
crime and disorder, parks and open spaces, street cleansing and
beach safety. Click here to go to the results of past Citizen
Panel consultations.
How are people chosen to go on the Panel?
We pick names from the Electoral register at random and then
invite those people to join the Panel. Because the names are
picked at random, this helps to make the Panel more representative
of Havant’s residents views.
Can I become a member of the Citizens'
Panel?
If you would like to be considered for Havant’s Citizens’ Panel
you will need to complete a short online questionnaire. We look at
all the information you give us on the questionnaire and check that
we have a vacancy on the panel for you. If we do have a vacancy, we
will add you to the panel membership and send you your first
questionnaire shortly afterwards. If there is no position on the
panel for you right now, we will keep your details and contact you
if a place arises, to see if you would still like to become a
Citizens' Panel member.
Please click here to go to the online recruitment
questionnaire.
Are there any restrictions on becoming a
member?
As long as we have a space on the Panel and you have not already
been a Panel member in the last three years, then the only
restriction is that Panel members should be aged over 18. We have a
separate Youth Panel which we use to find out what young people in
Havant think. Click here to access the Youth Panel
information.
How long are people members of Havant’s Citizens'
Panel?
Panel members stay on the Panel for up to three years. When
Panel members have been on the Panel for about three years they can
become experts on local issues and their views become less
representative. We can not therefore ask them to fill in any more
Panel questionnaires as this can affect the results.
What is the information used for? How can I find out if
the Panel has made a difference?
The findings are used by the Council to help plan future
services and policies and to measure performance. Sometimes the
questions we ask help us to write strategies for the future. All
Panel members receive a newsletter feeding back the findings from
the questionnaire and what will happen as a result. The results are
reported so that no individual Panel member can be recognised and
they are available for everyone to view on our website, please click here to views the results of past
Citizens' Panel consultations.
Does the Citizens’ Panel reflect the views of all the
different types of people living in Havant?
Havant’s Citizens’ Panel gives us a very good feel for what
Havant people as a whole think about local issues. The
questionnaires can also be made available in other formats, for
example in large print or in other languages to reach as many
people as possible.
There are some groups of people that the Panel can’t reach. For
example, the Panel is not the right way to find out what homeless
people, young people or people with learning difficulties think.
The Council tries to use other methods to reach these and other
“hard-to-reach” groups.