Residents from across Chesterfield and Derbyshire are being asked to take part in online focus groups which will help to shape Derbyshire County Council’s services and budget priorities for the year ahead.

The online focus groups are currently being arranged and Derbyshire residents who would like to take part are encouraged to find out more and register their interest.

People signing up will be able to get involved in discussions and give their views on a wide range of issues affecting them and the council, with the results feeding into its wide-ranging annual residents survey, ‘Your Council Your Voice.’

The focus groups will be held via Zoom and are designed to give us a greater understanding of residents’ satisfaction with how the council runs its services and how it sets budget priorities, as well as topics including value for money.

Derbyshire County Council Leader Councillor Barry Lewis said: “Due to the challenges we are all facing this year it is more important than ever that we know if Derbyshire residents think we’re getting it right, what changes they’d like to see and whether their priorities have changed from last year.

“While we’re encouraging people to take part in the Your Council Your Voice survey, we’d also like people to get more involved if they can and be able to go into more depth about their views.

“We’re hoping people from all walks of life, all ages and backgrounds will consider taking part in one of the focus groups so we get a really clear picture of what people think, what their priorities are and what they think we should be prioritising for the coming year.”

The online focus groups will run until Tuesday 8 December 2020 and people wanting to take part are being encouraged to register as soon as possible.

Groups will meet at different times of the day to make it easier for people to take part, and each session will take 90 minutes.

Places at each of the focus groups are limited and people who register will have their place confirmed with further details provided along with the date and time of their session.

People with any queries about taking part should email haveyoursay@derbyshire.gov.uk or tel: 01629 533091.

The Your Council Your Voice survey runs until Sunday 13 December 2020.