Support with Confidence survey review - People Bank involvement

Overview

As part of East Sussex County Council’s consultation on the potential closure or changes to its Support with Confidence scheme, a survey will be used to gather feedback from the residents of East Sussex. We asked a People Bank member to user test the draft of this survey, to ensure it was clear and offered sufficient opportunity to provide an informed response whatever level of knowledge about the scheme.

Our user tester said:

1. The overview structure needed adjusting, to explain what Support with Confidence is first.
2. What Support with Confidence was and why the scheme had been paused could be explained more clearly.
3. The scheme supported both Personal Assistants and Business to offer their services and residents to find support services, but the different user types were not clearly explained, including what issues affected who and why. 
4. Clearer guidance is needed for those who use or have used the scheme on what the issues raised mean for them.
5. When referring to how the scheme operated, the skipping between past, present, and future tense felt confusing, in particular regarding how things work for scheme members while it is paused.
6. Terminology in areas did not feel Plain English and would likely make sense just to those who use or have used the scheme. In addition, the survey questions did not feel relevant to residents who have never heard of the scheme.

How we responded:

1. A summary box has been put at the start of the survey to briefly explain what Support with Confidence is and the reasons for the consultation. Readers are directed to the relevant section for more comprehensive details.
2. The information on what the scheme was and why it needed to be paused has been revised.
3. The different ways people used the scheme have been defined in individual, titled sections in the overview. Additionally, the explanation for why the scheme was paused was revised to expand more on how it will affect the different scheme users.
4. In sections that may cause readers concerns, they are clearly signposted to see the ‘frequently asked questions’ page, which provides answers to a wide range of issues or concerns. Due to the nature of the problems the scheme faces, it is not possible to provide assurance for users that is ‘one size fits all’, within the consultation overview itself.
5. Overview revised to read in the appropriate tenses.
6. Terminology revised into plainer English where appropriate. Those who have never heard of the scheme are directed to a question where they can still share their views in a relevant way.

“The feedback provided by the People Bank member was helpful, as it provided us with valuable insight into how the consultation could be perceived by East Sussex residents. What was shared helped us to make improvements to the consultation content, which we hope will result in more residents taking part. Thank you” –Scheme manager