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Question of the Week - Past Results

Browse through questions and results from the last six months.
 
17-Jul-08
Should councils use reserve funds to improve their pay offer to staff?
Yes 33 %
No 67 %
 
10-Jul-08
Does the local government white paper give enough power to citizens?
Yes 25 %
No 75 %
 
03-Jul-08
Should NHS trust budgets be pegged to patient satisfaction?
Yes 45 %
No 55 %
 
26-Jun-08
Are local government staff justified in taking strike action over a 2.45% pay award?
Yes 54 %
No 46 %
 
19-Jun-08
Will allowing top-up payments in the NHS result in fairer care for patients?
Yes 60 %
No 40 %
 
12-Jun-08
Will the government’s proposed get-tough measures on schools finally raise education standards?
Yes 11 %
No 89 %
 
29-May-08
Should the government be bold and embrace green taxation?
Yes 38 %
No 62 %
 
22-May-08
Should the public sector rely on ONS migration statistics?
Yes 13 %
No 88 %
 
15-May-08
Will Gordon Brown’s programme for government restore public confidence?
Yes 25 %
No 75 %
 
08-May-08
Are shared services the best way to cut costs in the public sector?
Yes 18 %
No 82 %
 
01-May-08
Have local authorities been seriously weakened by the persistent refusal of government to devolve powers?
Yes 71 %
No 29 %
 
24-Apr-08
Does the government U-turn on the 10p tax rate undermine its reputation for economic competence?
Yes 80 %
No 20 %
 
17-Apr-08
Will next week’s public sector strikes serve any purpose in the face of the government’s determination to curb pay rises?
Yes 56 %
No 44 %
 
10-Apr-08
Will eco-towns be a significant contribution to solving the housing shortage?
Yes 27 %
No 73 %
 
03-Apr-08
Are council and police authorities threatened with capping being treated unfairly?
Yes 58 %
No 42 %
 
27-Mar-08
Should the government stop blaming councils for blockages in planning decisions?
Yes 55 %
No 45 %
 
20-Mar-08
Is 2.2% a reasonable pay offer for local government workers?

Yes 14 %
No 86 %
 
13-Mar-08
Is the Budget a good deal for the public services?
Yes 0 %
No 100 %
 
06-Mar-08
Should the chancellor scrap the sustainable investment rule?
Yes 29 %
No 71 %
 
28-Feb-08
Should local authorities and health trusts allocate more resources for care of the elderly?
Yes 68 %
No 32 %
 
21-Feb-08
Is the nationalisation of Northern Rock a good deal for the taxpayer?
Yes 27 %
No 73 %
 
14-Feb-08
Is the public sector doing enough to bring about equal pay?
Yes 50 %
No 50 %
 
07-Feb-08
Are the Audit Commission’s CPA assessments of councils too good to be true?
Yes 85 %
No 15 %
 
31-Jan-08
Should MPs be allowed to employ members of their family?

Yes 25 %
No 75 %
 
24-Jan-08
Should local authorities make more use of discretionary charges to balance their budgets?
Yes 67 %
No 33 %
 
17-Jan-08
Is the local government workers' 6% pay demand justifiable?
Yes 61 %
No 39 %
 
10-Jan-08
Should public sector unions accept three-year pay deals?
Yes 17 %
No 83 %
 
13-Dec-07
Should the police be given the right to strike?
Yes 44 %
No 56 %
 
06-Dec-07
Are poor procurement skills in the public sector undermining the value of the PFI?
Yes 41 %
No 59 %
 
29-Nov-07
Should there be state funding for political parties to stop abuses?
Yes 14 %
No 86 %
 
22-Nov-07
Will the new Comprehensive Area Assessments improve scrutiny of local public services?
Yes 29 %
No 71 %
 
15-Nov-07
Should public sector performance ratings be extended to private firms providing public services?
Yes 73 %
No 27 %
 
08-Nov-07
Did the Queen’s Speech give an indication of Gordon Brown’s vision for the public services?
Yes 0 %
No 100 %
 
01-Nov-07
Are councils getting a raw deal from dubious population statistics?
Yes 67 %
No 33 %
 
25-Oct-07
Should the government raid school reserves to plug gaps in education provision?
Yes 56 %
No 44 %
 
18-Oct-07
Are NHS trusts too heavily focused on financial management at the expense of care?
Yes 47 %
No 53 %
 
11-Oct-07
Would ending means-testing for elderly and disabled care be a step forward?
Yes 82 %
No 18 %
 
04-Oct-07
Is an early election in the country’s interests?
Yes 46 %
No 54 %
 
27-Sep-07
Are personalised services the way forward in the public sector?
Yes 33 %
No 67 %
 
20-Sep-07
Should the government switch spending from the NHS to social care in the Comprehensive Spending Review?
Yes 71 %
No 29 %
 
13-Sep-07
Should the government scrap the 2% cap on public sector pay deals?
Yes 73 %
No 27 %
 
06-Sep-07
Should Scotland be allowed to replace council tax with a local income tax independently of the rest of the UK?
Yes 74 %
No 26 %
 
30-Aug-07
Will city-regions give town halls greater influence over policy development?
Yes 17 %
No 83 %
 
16-Aug-07
Should residential and care homes for elderly people be more tightly regulated to cut down on abuses?
Yes 88 %
No 12 %
 
02-Aug-07
Are we about to see a new era of council house-building?
Yes 50 %
No 50 %
 
26-Jul-07
Is the government providing sufficient funds to cope with the floods crisis?
Yes 57 %
No 43 %
 
19-Jul-07
Should all public bodies have a statutory duty to promote sustainability?
Yes 64 %
No 36 %
 
12-Jul-07
Should Sir Ara Darzi’s plan for London hospital care be extended to the NHS nationwide?
Yes 33 %
No 67 %
 
05-Jul-07
Will town halls get a fairer hearing from the Brown government?
Yes 40 %
No 60 %
 
28-Jun-07
Will Gordon Brown’s government produce more efficient public services than its predecessor?
Yes 47 %
No 53 %
 
21-Jun-07
Should there be a cull of government websites?
Yes 83 %
No 17 %
 
14-Jun-07
Is the execution of shared services in the public sector pitiful?
Yes 89 %
No 11 %
 
07-Jun-07
Has public service modernisation run its course?
Yes 18 %
No 82 %
 
31-May-07
Should the NHS underspend be used to reverse cuts in services and jobs?
Yes 64 %
No 36 %
 
24-May-07
Will the draft planning Bill unfairly reduce local influence on decision-making?
Yes 54 %
No 46 %
 
17-May-07
Are academies a better way of promoting social mobility than grammar schools?
Yes 32 %
No 68 %
 
10-May-07
Should the NHS be taken out of the hands of politicians and run by an independent board?
Yes 58 %
No 42 %
 
03-May-07
Will the expansion of independent sector treatment centres improve NHS services?
Yes 42 %
No 58 %
 
26-Apr-07
Should taxes be increased to pay for adult social care?
Yes 33 %
No 67 %
 
19-Apr-07
Is Gordon Brown’s 2% cap on public sector pay rises still realistic?
Yes 3 %
No 97 %
 
12-Apr-07
Should councillors be paid more to encourage wider participation?
Yes 33 %
No 67 %
 
05-Apr-07
Should councils' cash to tackle extremism be ring-fenced from other community cohesion spending?
Yes 43 %
No 57 %
 
29-Mar-07
Would a civil service Act improve government accountability?
Yes 56 %
No 44 %
 
22-Mar-07
Should the Lyons inquiry report have been more radical?
Yes 90 %
No 10 %
 
15-Mar-07
Should there be a carbon emissions trading scheme for public bodies?
Yes 50 %
No 50 %
 
08-Mar-07
Are e-petitions a useful aid to developing policy?
Yes 31 %
No 69 %
 
01-Mar-07
Should council tax be abolished?
Yes 54 %
No 46 %
 
22-Feb-07
Are the CPA results a true reflection of councils’ progress?
Yes 50 %
No 50 %
 
15-Feb-07
Is the local government pay claim affordable?
Yes 50 %
No 50 %
 
08-Feb-07
Should contracts between civil servants and ministers be extended across Whitehall?
Yes 60 %
No 40 %
 
01-Feb-07
Will delaying the Comprehensive Spending Review cause chaos for public sector planning?
Yes 60 %
No 40 %
 
25-Jan-07
Should the Home Office be split into two separate ministries?
Yes 77 %
No 23 %
 
18-Jan-07
Should government departments be allowed to share information about citizens?
Yes 75 %
No 25 %
 
11-Jan-07
Should the state continue to provide preventative social care for elderly and disabled people?
Yes 77 %
No 23 %
 
04-Jan-07
Would a strike by civil servants over pay and job losses be justifiable?
Yes 56 %
No 44 %
 
14-Dec-06
Will the new Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission help to alleviate child poverty?
Yes 17 %
No 83 %
 
07-Dec-06
Should an independent commission have the final say on major planning projects?
Yes 61 %
No 39 %
 
30-Nov-06
Should employers take more responsibility for skills training?
Yes 80 %
No 20 %
 
23-Nov-06
Are the latest estimates for the cost of the 2012 London Olympics realistic?
Yes 7 %
No 93 %
 
16-Nov-06
Would a local property tax be fairer than council tax?
Yes 21 %
No 79 %
 
09-Nov-06
Should business rates be relocalised?
Yes 57 %
No 43 %
 
02-Nov-06
Have NHS reforms gone too far?
Yes 50 %
No 50 %
 
26-Oct-06
is the local government white paper radical enough?
Yes 36 %
No 64 %
 
19-Oct-06
Is efficiency the ‘friend of public services’?
Yes 50 %
No 50 %
 
12-Oct-06
Should payment by results be extended across the public services?
Yes 33 %
No 67 %
 
05-Oct-06
Is an expansion of nuclear power inevitable?
Yes 69 %
No 31 %
 
28-Sep-06
Should the NHS be overseen by an independent management board?
Yes 70 %
No 30 %
 
21-Sep-06
Is the government right to remove the ceiling on private sector involvement in the NHS?
Yes 41 %
No 59 %
 
14-Sep-06
Would public sector trade unions have more influence under a Gordon Brown premiership?
Yes 9 %
No 91 %
 
07-Sep-06
Is the Labour leadership row harming the public services reform programme?
Yes 38 %
No 62 %
 
01-Sep-06
Does the public want to get involved in designing and delivering services?
Yes 42 %
No 58 %
 
17-Aug-06
Are technological improvements the key to better public services?
Yes 65 %
No 35 %
 
03-Aug-06
Should the Department for Communities and Local Government admit its population statistics are wrong?
Yes 43 %
No 57 %
 
27-Jul-06
Should resource accounting be abandoned in the NHS?
Yes 50 %
No 50 %
 
20-Jul-06
Will DCRs bring a genuine improvement in Whitehall delivery?
Yes 19 %
No 81 %
 
13-Jul-06
Should the government force through the mergers of police forces?
Yes 91 %
No 9 %
 
06-Jul-06
Will cutting targets give town halls the freedom they need?
Yes 60 %
No 40 %
 
29-Jun-06
Should the voluntary sector be more involved in providing public services?
Yes 44 %
No 56 %
 
22-Jun-06
Should the Home Office be broken up?
Yes 53 %
No 47 %
 
16-Jun-06
Is co-production the way forward for public services?
Yes 50 %
No 50 %
 
08-Jun-06
Is the public sector doing enough to facilitate sustainability?
Yes 43 %
No 57 %
 
01-Jun-06
Should responsibility for tax credits pass to the Department for Work and Pensions?
Yes 53 %
No 47 %
 
25-May-06
Should public sector workers still be allowed to retire at 60?
Yes 78 %
No 22 %
 
18-May-06
Should the government go ‘further and faster’ in public service reform?
Yes 49 %
No 51 %
 
11-May-06
Should the local government white paper be delayed until after the final Lyons report is published?
Yes 54 %
No 46 %
 
05-May-06
Should the ODPM white paper be delayed until after the Lyons Inquiry reports?
Yes 51 %
No 49 %
 
27-Apr-06
Is the NHS enjoying its best year ever?
Yes 53 %
No 47 %
 
20-Apr-06
Is the local election campaign focusing on the real issues?
Yes 47 %
No 53 %
 
13-Apr-06
Is the NHS facing a crisis?
Yes 66 %
No 34 %
 
06-Apr-06
Should rises in the basic state pension be linked to average earnings?
Yes 61 %
No 39 %
 
30-Mar-06
Should the government adopt the Wanless proposals on personal care?
Yes 50 %
No 50 %
 
23-Mar-06
Should public sector pay rises average no more than 2.25%?
Yes 48 %
No 52 %
 
16-Mar-06
Do social service departments deserve higher priority?
Yes 64 %
No 36 %
 
09-Mar-06
Should Sir Nigel Crisp take the blame for the escalating NHS deficits?
Yes 58 %
No 42 %
 
02-Mar-06
Are the proposed council tax rises fair?
Yes 58 %
No