THOUSANDS of families across St Helens are being given the chance to have their say on how the town should be run.

St Helens Council is launching a community survey with the aim of creating a Citizens or People's Panel which will be consulted on a regular basis about local issues.

First part of the scheme involves a questionnaire, being sent to 10,000 randomly-selected households

Families will be asked for their views on a range of issues including their feelings about the specific local area in which they live, what they feel the council's priorities should be and questions about how they assess the standards of service given by the council, police and health authority.

The resulting 'panel' will be made up of a cross section of 1,200 members of the community who will be regularly surveyed about issues involving the council and/or its partnership organisations.

Merseyside Information Service will be undertaking the work on behalf of the council and residents will be offered the chance to win a cash prize by completing the questionnaire.

Council leader, Marie Rimmer, urged residents to take part in the survey, saying: "It will provide us with really important information to help decide our priorities. We want to hear the views of local people - they will make a difference."

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