The London Borough of Newham: Residents’ Survey
Background & Context
The London Borough of Newham commissioned M·E·L Research to deliver a borough-wide residents’ survey to understand how people living in the borough perceive their local area, the services they receive, and the Council itself. The research was designed to provide robust evidence to support strategic decision-making, service improvement and communications planning.
Newham is one of London’s most diverse boroughs, with significant variation between neighbourhoods and demographic groups. The Council required reliable and representative insight that could capture the views of this diverse population and allow meaningful comparisons between different communities within the borough.
The survey aimed to explore several key areas:
- Residents’ perceptions of Newham as a place to live
- Satisfaction with the way the Council runs things and the services it provides
- Residents’ priorities and concerns about their local area
- Views on communication, empowerment and engagement with the Council
- Residents’ wellbeing, quality of life and financial resilience
A key requirement for the study was to understand how views varied geographically and demographically, enabling the Council to identify where experiences differed across neighbourhoods or resident groups. The research also aimed to benchmark residents’ views against wider UK sentiment where possible and to provide indicative comparisons with previous iterations of the survey.
Given the complexity and diversity of the borough, the Council required a robust sampling approach that could deliver representative insight while ensuring sufficient coverage across local areas and demographic groups.
Approach
M·E·L Research designed and delivered a large-scale quantitative survey using a face-to-face interviewing methodology to maximise representativeness and data quality.
Face-to-face interviewing was selected because it provides strong control over the sample composition and supports high engagement with respondents, allowing a broad range of topics to be explored within a single survey interview.
The research comprised the following methodological stages:
Face-to-face survey with residents
- 1,523 interviews were completed with Newham residents.
- Interviews were conducted face-to-face at residential addresses using tablets.
- Fieldwork took place across the borough using a stratified random sampling approach.
- Sampling was structured to ensure geographic and demographic representativeness:
- Census Output Areas (COAs) were used as the primary sampling units.
- Within each ward, COAs were ranked by Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) to ensure the sample reflected variation in deprivation levels.
- Sampling points were randomly selected and interviewers were provided with address lists for each location.
- Interviewers completed a target of 10 interviews per sampling point.
To ensure the sample reflected the borough’s population profile, quotas were applied at both ward and borough level:
- Ward-level quotas: age and gender
- Borough-level quotas: ethnicity, housing tenure and employment status
- Population profiles used to set quotas were based on Census 2021 data.
For analysis and reporting, the data was organised geographically by Community Neighbourhood Areas (CNAs). These are locally recognised neighbourhood groupings made up of multiple COAs, enabling robust geographic analysis while maintaining a statistically controlled sample design.
Data weighting and statistical analysis
Although quotas ensured a diverse sample, data weighting was applied to the final dataset to ensure the results were fully representative of the borough population.
Weighting variables included:
- Ward
- Age
- Gender
- Ethnicity
- Housing tenure
- Employment status
The final sample of 1,523 residents delivered a maximum confidence interval of ±2.51 percentage points at the 95% confidence level for borough-level results.
Sub-group analysis was undertaken to compare views across different demographic groups and neighbourhoods. Statistical testing was used to identify significant differences between sub-groups and the borough average, ensuring that reported variations reflected genuine differences rather than sampling variation.
The research also included key driver analysis, examining the relationship between individual factors and overall satisfaction. This allowed the Council to identify which issues most strongly influenced residents’ perceptions of their local area and the Council’s performance.
Where relevant, results were also compared with Local Government Association (LGA) benchmark data, providing broader context for residents’ views.
Outputs
M·E·L Research conducted detailed quantitative analysis of the survey data, including:
- Borough-wide analysis
- Geographic analysis by Community Neighbourhood Area
- Demographic analysis across key resident groups
- Statistical significance testing
- Driver analysis exploring the factors shaping satisfaction
The results were presented in a comprehensive analytical report and presentation deck, combining data visualisation, interpretation and structured insight to support decision-making across the Council.
The outputs provided the Council with:
- Robust measures of residents’ satisfaction with their local area and Council services
- Insight into residents’ priorities and concerns
- Evidence on trust, value for money and perceptions of Council performance
- Understanding of how residents access information and engage with the Council
- Insight into wellbeing, financial resilience and quality of life across the borough
- The findings also highlighted where perceptions varied between neighbourhoods and resident groups, enabling the Council to identify areas where targeted action or communication may be beneficial.
The research provided the Council with a detailed evidence base to inform service planning, policy development and engagement strategies across the borough.
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