DO you think the borough council is getting its act together when it comes to providing local services?

You can have your say on the question if you are one the thousands of residents contacted for their views by the council over the next six months.

A series of satisfaction surveys will be taking place to find out about people's experiences of:

* Applying for housing and council be nefits

* Applying for planning permission

* Being a housing tenant

* Using a range of key council services

Anyone who is randomly selected to receive a questionnaire is being urged to fill them in to help the council improve the way it delivers its services.

Whether it's good or bad news, the council wants to learn from the experiences of service users to ensure residents in Ellesmere Port and Neston receive the best possible quality services.

Councils are required to carry out best value satisfaction surveys every three years to help them set targets for improvement.

The survey will see 5,000 people selected at random next month and asked for their views on issues like quality of life in the borough, waste and recycling services, cultural and recreational activities and anti-social behaviour.

They will also be given the opportunity to join the borough's People's Panel so that they can regularly give their views on a range of issues through further surveys and focus groups.

The panel is made up of more than 1,000 people. It aims to be representative of the local population in terms of ethnicity, age and employment status, and is consulted several times a year.

Council chief executive Stephen Ewbank said: 'Our aim is to constantly improve the quality of local services. That can only be assured if people tell us what they think of the services that we provide.'