Big Community Conversation questions and answers - Corporate
NTSP Big Community Conversation Questions and Answers
Please see a list of the questions you can find below. Please scroll down to find the answers to each question.
1. Why don’t councillors get more involved in local communities?
2. Do we need a Mayor, what does she do, and what is her plan for North Tyneside?
3. Why are local councillors’ concerns sometimes ignored, and why does investment appear coast-centric?
4. What are the Council’s main challenges, how are they being addressed, and how is spending on EDI initiatives and community cohesion managed?
5. How does the Council plan to implement “levelling up funding” in the future?
6. Why don’t Council departments communicate better to prevent duplication and stress, and why do staff fail to follow up on issues? (NE23 7LG, NE28 8SR)
7. Why has it become difficult to contact Council departments, and what is being done to improve response times?
8. Why must residents “badger” the Council to get things done, and how is information being made more accessible, including for blind or visually impaired people and those not online?
9. Can Council communications be improved, including website navigation, reporting lighting faults, phone messages, and centralising events on social media?
10. How does the Council consult residents, including disabled people and young people, and why are consultation results sometimes ignored or poorly publicised?
1. Why don’t councillors get more involved in local communities?
Our Councillors are elected by their communities and represent their views, they hold regular ward surgeries, attend local events and support community groups. You can raise concerns, share ideas or challenge decision making at any of these sessions.
They will then work closely with council officers to help resolve these issues, improve services and the wards they serve. They live in the areas they represent and have strong local insight into their communities.
To find out more about your local councillors and how they support your community, visit this page.
2. Do we need a Mayor, what does she do, and what is her plan for North Tyneside?
North Tyneside has an Elected Mayor because of a governance change made in 2002, following a referendum in 2001 that showed 57.6% of voters supported switching to an elected mayor system
It provides stronger political leadership and clearer accountability for decision-making.
A second referendum was held in May 2016, 57.5% voted to retain the elected mayor model.
The Elected Mayor’s role includes:
- Principal Public Spokesperson: Represents North Tyneside Council publicly and promotes the borough locally, nationally, and internationally.
- Political Leadership: Sets the overall political direction and priorities for the council.
- Cabinet Appointments: Selects the Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Members, each responsible for specific portfolios such as housing, education, public health, and the environment.
- Delegation of Powers: Decides how executive powers are distributed among cabinet members.
- Chairing Cabinet Meetings: Leads discussions and decision-making within the Cabinet.
- External Representation: Represents the council on regional and national executive bodies as required.
Karen Clark, was elected in May 2025, has outlined priorities based on community feedback and is drafting her first Council Plan, feedback from the Big Community Conversation will help shape this plan.
The Elected Mayor’s initial priorities include:
- A better quality of life for all.
Having a healthier, fairer and better quality of life where all residents can thrive and reach their potential.
- Provide the best start in life.
Giving our children and young people the tools they need to achieve their goals and reach their full potential.
- Have places to be proud of.
Ensuring that our neighbourhoods and town centres are clean, green and safe and make North Tyneside an even greater place to live, work and visit.
- Have good work for all and economic growth.
Helping to create more even good quality jobs and build strong economic growth.
- Provide housing and neighbourhoods that enhance lives.
Delivering even more affordable and social housing and create neighbourhoods where people are proud to call home.
3. Why are local councillors’ concerns sometimes ignored, and why does investment appear coast-centric?
There are several routes that Councillors can raise their concerns, and concerns raised by their communities. The Council is proud to listen to its resident’s and act on their concerns when it is appropriate to do so and has routes for these concerns to be escalated further if the resident is not happy with the outcome.
The Council’s investment programme is widespread and covers all parts of the Borough, our ambitious redevelopment programmes cover North Shields, Wallsend, Whitley Bay and the north-west villages. Our investment plan covers buildings, parks, leisure centres and other venues across the Borough – from Segedunum in Wallsend to Killingworth Lake Park, to Spanish City and St Mary’s Lighthouse.
4. What are the Council’s main challenges, how are they being addressed, and how is spending on EDI initiatives and community cohesion managed?
The Council does not have a specific budget for EDI initiatives. The work is picked up as part of our internal polices, including support for our Staff Network groups and to make sure we are meeting our legal responsibilities.
The Authority steers actions in relation to Community Cohesion through the Safer North Tyneside Partnership which is a statutory Community Safety Partnership. Through the delivery of the Community Safety Strategy and its delivery groups, priorities are actioned to address challenges effecting communities.
The current Plan aims to tackle anti-social behaviour, serious violence, working with young people, domestic abuse, tackling illicit substances and substance misuse, re-offending, implementation of the government's CONTEST agenda and building trust and confidence.
Spending is predominately managed through grants from central government and in partnership with the Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner.
5. How does the Council plan to implement “levelling up funding” in the future?
Levelling Up funding was a policy of the previous Conservative Government with the final round, Round 3, awarded in November 2023.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) is now a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda. It provided £2.6 billion of new funding for local investment by March 2025, with all areas of the UK receiving an allocation via a funding formula rather than a competition. The UK Shared Prosperity programme was extended for a year and comes to an end in March 2026.
North Tyneside Council has received more than £7.4 million in UKSPF funding since 2022 via the North East Combined Authority, for initiatives including the Business Factory, North Shields Cultural Quarter, Towns and High Streets Innovation Programme Wallsend, North Tyneside Community Partnerships (with North Tyneside VODA), and the North Shields Masterplan. Many of these schemes are ongoing, supporting our residents, the local economy and improving our public spaces.
North Tyneside Council continues to work closely with partners including the North East Combined Authority to access national funding to invest in our communities wherever possible.”
6. Why don’t Council departments communicate better to prevent duplication and stress, and why do staff fail to follow up on issues? (NE23 7LG, NE28 8SR)
The Council is always looking at how we can reach all our colleagues and communicate in an efficient and positive way, with a focus on our residents and communities.
We are developing new internal systems that will have a single point to manage service requests and communications that will avoid duplication and make sure resident concerns are followed up and actioned appropriately.
We want all customers, across our varied workforce, to have communicated to and have chance to have their voice heard. Our recent Customer Service programme developed systems for our front-line colleagues to access information digitally, if they chose to, and we have added technology and learning to support those who need support getting online and receiving communication.
7. Why has it become difficult to contact Council departments, and what is being done to improve response times?
The Council have a range of ways that customers can contact us to ensure that they reach the right team or service.
Customers can contact our customer service team by phone, in person or online for support to reach the right service or team to answer any queries.
Our redesigned website supports customers to find answers to queries or questions they may have, to access various services and to complete transactions in an accessible way.
We have improved our letters ensuring that information on how to contact the team or service is clearly displayed. If customers find that they still cannot contact us or are not receiving responses to their contact, we encourage you to contact us so we can address any issues.
8. Why must residents “badger” the Council to get things done, and how is information being made more accessible, including for blind or visually impaired people and those not online?
We have a range of ways that customers can contact us to ensure that they reach the right team or service to raise issues or request for services to be carried out.
Customers can contact our customer service team by phone, in person or online for support to reach the right service or team to answer any issues or request for a service to be carried out. We know that not all customers are online.
Customers can access support in person at any of our six Community Hubs across the borough, or they can phone our customer service team direct who can assist them. We are making improvements to the council website to ensure content is more accessible; these changes will mean that content can be read aloud by the web browser.
9. Can Council communications be improved, including website navigation, reporting lighting faults, phone messages, and centralising events on social media?
The council will be launching a new, improved website at the end of September 2025, with a greater focus on making the information accessible, the site easy to navigate and make it simpler for residents to complete transactions – including reporting issues, paying fines and making applications. It is the council’s ambition that this site will achieve a WCAG 2.2 AAA rating, the highest level of accessibility achievable.
We are always developing our social media channels and will take the feedback on board regarding the use of it to promote our events.
We have also made improvements to our phone system to make it easier for customers to reach the right team or service for their query. We have improved the messages customers hear when they call us to ensure these are clear and understandable.
10. How does the Council consult residents, including disabled people and young people, and why are consultation results sometimes ignored or poorly publicised?
Residents across North Tyneside have a wide range of opportunities to take part in consultations on local issues.
- Online & print access – Consultations are available via Our North Tyneside Voice, the Council’s digital engagement platform, and in print at all six community hubs and libraries.
- Young people’s involvement – Engagement takes place through the Youth Council, Children in Care Council, Children’s Council, SEND Youth Forum, schools, and youth groups. This year’s Big Community Conversation included 200 young people aged 11–16, making up 16% of total responses.
- Tenant voice – Council tenants can join tenant-only consultations and tenant panels to shape housing services.
- Promotion & outreach – Consultations are shared through community groups, social media, the Council magazine, and targeted outreach to ensure accessibility for disabled people and young people.
- Ways to get involved – Residents can complete surveys, join focus groups, or attend meetings.
- Feedback – Outcomes are reported back through the same channels used for promotion.
The best way to stay informed is to sign up to Our North Tyneside Voice for regular updates or visit your local community hub.