Background to the Research

• This report presents the main findings from the seventh biennial Public Attitudes Survey conducted by Ulster Marketing Surveys on behalf of the NIHE.

Research Approach

• The fieldwork for the survey took place between December 1996 and January 1997, with 1,128 members of the public. People of all tenures were interviewed.

Main Findings

Contact with the Housing Executive

• Just over a quarter of the adult population of Northern Ireland (26%) had been in contact with the NIHE in the two years prior to the survey, representing 303,000 people. Contact levels were highest in the South Region at 32% and lowest in the South East Region at 23%.
  
  
• Almost two thirds of NIHE tenants (66%) had been in contact with the Executive between 1994/95 and 1996/97 compared to 11% of owner occupiers who had been in contact.
  
  
• Catholics (29%) were slightly more likely to have been in contact with the Executive than Protestants (24%).
  
  
• The majority of people contacting the NIHE did so regarding housing maintenance or repair (42%) with 10% contacting for both grants and the housing selection scheme.
  
  
• The telephone was revealed to be the most common means of contacting the Executive (78%).

Service Appraisal and Priorities

• Just over two thirds of those who had had contact with the Executive (68%) were satisfied with the response times. A similar proportion were also satisfied with the quality of the work carried out.
  
  
• 68% of those who had applied for grants to the Executive said their application had been dealt with efficiently, however 27% felt that there application was processed inefficiently and 5% were undecided.
  
  
• The Executive's allocations system was thought to be efficient by only 49% of those questioned, with 28% stating it was inefficient and 18% undecided.
  
  
• Half of those in contact with the Executive (50%) said they were aware of the role of Housing Associations. Awareness was highest among those aged 45-54 (64%) and lowest among those aged 65+ (24%). At the regional level awareness was highest in the North East (67%) and lowest in both Belfast and West Regions at 43%.
  
  
• The majority of respondents (87%) supported the sale of Housing Executive homes at a discount to tenants. Interest in house sales was highest in the South Region (59%) and lowest in the North East Region (32%).

Religion

• A majority of respondents (59%) felt that the Housing Executive did not discriminate on religious grounds. Although only 8% said that the Housing Executive discriminated on religious grounds, all of these respondents (93) irrespective of their religion believed this was at the expense of Protestants.
  
  
• More than four fifths of those interviewed (82%) said they were prepared to live in mixed religion areas. Catholics (85%) who were surveyed were slightly more willing to live in mixed areas than Protestants (80%). Owner occupiers (85%) were more prepared to live in mixed religion areas than Housing Executive tenants (73%).
  
  
• There was considerable support from the public (70%) for the introduction of a Housing Executive policy of mixed religion housing estates. Regionally support was strongest in the North East (79%) and weakest from respondents in Belfast (52%), although even here it was supported by more than half of those questioned. Catholics (70%) were slightly stronger in their support for mixed religion housing estates compared to Protestants (67%).

Regional Variations

• The profile of respondents who contacted the Executive in the last two years was fairly evenly spread across all five regions. Just over a fifth of contacts lived in Belfast (21%) and West Regions (21%) compared to 20% in both South East and North East Regions, while only 18% of contacts lived in the South Region.
  
  
• There was some evidence of variations in the awareness of the Citizen's Charter amongst people from the various regions. The highest levels of awareness were recorded in the South East Region (45%), whilst the West Region (30%) displayed the lowest level of awareness.
  
  
• Regional differences were also apparent in the level of awareness of the Executive's formal complaints procedure. Although overall 17% of respondents were aware of the complaints procedure this ranged from 10% in Belfast to 28% in North East Region.

Corporate Image and Energy Conservation

• The Housing Executive (69%) was placed fourth in importance behind Health Trusts (69%), the DOE Water Service (78%) and the DOE Roads Service (77%) but ahead of Local Councils (55%).
  
  
• The survey showed that only 1 in 10 respondents were aware of the Housing Executive's new role as the Energy Conservation Authority for Northern Ireland. Awareness was highest among those aged 55-59 and private rented tenants at 17%. Just under a quarter of those interviewed (23%) had made energy saving improvements to their homes, mainly for reasons of comfort.