Wave Three – November/December 2021

Coronavirus has had a big impact on how we all live, work, travel and interact. To understand the local impact, in November and December, we asked residents to tell us how they have been affected. Over 700 residents took part in the survey and shared their experiences of the pandemic.

If you took part in the survey, thank you for taking the time to tell us how coronavirus has affected you and your family. The results of the survey will help shape how we work with other organisations, residents and communities to keep Portsmouth safe and help the city plan for the future.

• The majority of residents feel confident that they understand the current rules and guidance, although this has declined since Wave 2 (-12 percentage points).
• Levels of trust in information and advice from Portsmouth City Council have decreased after their rise in Wave 2 (-7 percentage points) although still remain at a high level (74%).
• The proportion of people who feel ‘completely’ satisfied with life nowadays has increased since Wave 2 (+2 percentage points).
• The proportion of residents who report a negative impact to their household finances has risen consistently wave by wave, rising by +5 percentage points since Wave 2.
• Residents are less likely to shop local and support local businesses – local spend has decreased from wave 2, intentions to spend with national chains has increased.
• Over half say they will continue to avoid crowded places (58%) after the pandemic.
• The majority of residents would try to get a test for COVID-19 if they experienced one or more of the main symptoms (86%), although this has declined since Wave 2 (-6 percentage points).
• A strong majority say they would try to get a test if they have been in contact with someone who has tested positive, even if they do not feel any symptoms (81%).
• The majority of respondents would self-isolate if they developed symptoms (91%) and over three-quarters would self-isolate if someone in their household developed symptoms (78%)
• A majority of parents are worried about the impact of COVID-19 on their child / children’s education (78%). Parents say there should be a focus moving forward on supporting staff and students with catching up on academic progress they may have missed throughout the pandemic.
• Less than half of respondents are confident in their future career prospects (45%).

If you have any questions about the research or its findings you can contact our research team via marketresearch@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

We did some similar research in 2020 and in total, we had more than 4,100 responses. We’ll be able to compare the findings and see how things may have changed for people throughout the pandemic.

You can see the findings from the first and second coronavirus survey at: www.coronavirussurvey.portsmouth.gov.uk/

You can also sign-up for email alerts so you never miss another consultation.

The research used a predominantly quantitative survey approach which was self-completing and online. The survey was launched on Wednesday 24th November 2021 and was in the field until Monday 3rd January 2022. It was promoted through the following marketing and communication channels:

• Press release announcing start of consultation and focus on impact of coronavirus / budget plans
• Social media promotion including boosted posts and adverts
• Website news story, banners and ‘your city your say’ page
• Inclusions in news bulletins – all subscriber coronavirus bulletin, Your City Your Say
• Inclusion in staff bulletins and all-staff emails
• Newsletter copy and social post/links shared with partner organisation

Despite extensive efforts to reach out to all demographics, the sample collected was not representative of Portsmouth’s known population. In order to ensure that the results of the analysis were representative of the views of the city’s residents, the data was weighted using various sources of Official Statistics. For further details about the data weighting click here.